Just a Flickering Flame
by Cethulu
Summary: The biggest things in life often start with little ceremony. That's not the case for a certain skeleton in the underground, where chaos seems to breed chaos at every step. (formally titled 'Numbers')
1. Chapter 1 - Numbers

_Woo, another! Look at me go! not intended to be connected with Dissemination but not necessarily not connected, either haha. this is going to be more like a collection of snapshots that I add to as and when inspiration takes me rather than a whole story. Babybones and Dadster fic ahoy!_

 _Edit: Absolutely no longer associated with dissemination in any way, but you will notice some headcanons that carry through if you have read it. The Numbers 'verse has very much become it's own creature._

* * *

"Doctor Gaster, thank you for agreeing to meet with us. We appreciate that your time is very limited." The teacher gestures for him to sit opposite her at her desk in front of the classroom, and he does after taking a moment to look back at his two boys. Sans was happily playing with Papyrus in the younger's stroller, and the younger of the two's giggles rang around the room.  
"No, it's fine. Being a father is above being the royal scientist." He says with a smile, summoned hands translating font slightly ahead of his speech to keep up with himself. "...Although, I must admit, I am not sure why you've called me here. I've never been made aware of any previous problems." He spares a second look at his sons.  
"Ah, right." The teacher, Gaster couldn't put his finger on her name right now, opens and closes a drawer on her side of the desk and grabs some papers before she begins. "Firstly, I must ask a question... Can you think of any reason why Sans would be unusually stressed or unhappy at the moment?"  
Gaster frowns, and shakes his head, `. "There's nothing out of the ordinary at home. He sometimes gets a little upset if I am running late from the lab but as you know yourself, I always make sure they're looked after. And before you ask, they are both happy with Grillby on those days. He wouldn't go with him if he wasn't happy. As I am sure you know by now, Sans can be quite... willful, even at this age."  
The teacher has to chuckle. "Indeed, he is. Sorry, I had to ask."  
"I understand. With that out of the way, would you mind telling me what this is about and why that question was considered at all relevant?"

Ms. Hudder, that was her name, sighs and puts a small pile of papers on the desk for him to look through as she speaks. "We have noticed that Sans tends to default to your... uhh... more traditional font when he struggles to understand or dislikes an assignment, as was discussed when we noticed his written font and his spoken fonts weren't matching up." Ahh, yes. The whole Comic Sans/Mono Sans 'panic' that had also been worry over nothing. "In the last week he has been writing the bare minimum in readable font, and any spare time he has been writing... well, these." She gestures at the papers in his hand. "He's also becoming increasingly withdrawn, preferring to spend time sat in the corner and staring either into the room or out of the window rather than participating in, well... anything. We thought we could see if you could a) tell us what these say, and b) see if you could give us any insight into why the sudden change in behaviours are happening."  
"Well, I can certainly clear up the first one." He puts the papers down, not yet seeing a reason for so much concern - but admiring their tenacity and attentiveness to his child (and, he is sure, the others). "They're numbers. A lot of them repeating. Here, one moment-" He draws up a quick table on the back of the paper from 0-9 with the corresponding symbols "-That's the numbers zero to nine. As you can see, they're all here. There's no real spacing here so I don't know if it's supposed to be just one number or many... have you asked him what they are?"  
"Yes. He won't tell us." Gaster sighs at the response. Of course he won't.

"Sans." He hears Sans turn his head with a small 'hmm', obviously stopping playing with Papyrus because the younger one because the happy burbles stop for a moment. "Can you come over here for a minute? Bring Papyrus over if you must." Although, he mostly adds on the last bit to take the excuse of his brother away. He hears him sigh quietly, fiddle with the latch on the safety belt and finally footsteps towards them. He passes Papyrus to his father as he gets to the desk and sits himself on the chair with another huff.  
 **"i got it**." He huffs as Gaster reaches out to help him. The frozen grin does nothing to hide the confusion as to why he's been called over to the adults. **"yeah?"  
** Gaster reaches out and taps the papers with a long bony finger, and he watches his son's shoulders hunch a little bit. "What's this number?"  
 **"dunno."** He mumbles into his chest, looking down and away from the picture as much as he can manage.  
"Sans... What do the numbers mean?" The elder son starts kicking his feet on the chair. He only does that when he's getting antsy, whether that be through nervousness or boredom and impatience  
 **"nuffin'."** He replies just as quietly and solemnly, edged with frustration. He doesn't even look up when Gaster touches his legs to try and unsuccessfully still them.  
Gaster can't help but sigh with his own frustration. "You're not in trouble, but we need to know what they are-"  
He's met by empty and wide eye sockets, and a simple but firm **"i said they were nothing"** before the elder child takes papyrus out of his arms and starts playing with him again with his pupils back in place and the corners of his smile twitching as much as they ever do, touching the bottoms of the eye sockets and curving the bottoms in a way that belied his happiness. Gaster turns to the teacher, perplexed because that's a new level of serious for his eldest, and shrugs a little. "I can only ask him again later when we're at home, and give you my word that I'll be looking into it. Parent-teacher meetings are not exactly going to settle him if he's not happy talking about what they are in the first place. As for the font, if it's an issue I can write out a complete chart for translation if you feel it's necessary. I know I gave you one for the basics when we first started, but if you feel that-"  
She shakes her head. "No, we don't need that but the offer is appreciated. We have enough to get the meanings of what he's trying to say when he defaults, but other than that we do try and encourage him to write in a mono format if at all possible and usually he aquiesces quickly - this may just be a phase he'll move on from quickly."  
Sensing (or rather, hoping) that they were wrapping up talking about him, probably, Sans says the magic words to his little brother: **"hey pap, wanna see if dad'll make us spaghetti for dinner?"** The little one starts shouting for 'sgetti' rather loudly and excitedly, which makes Sans start laughing and has the adults join in - putting the final nail in their discussion.  
"Fine, fine." Gaster says with a fond smile, standing. He offers a hand for the teacher to shake. "I will try and find out what's going on over the weekend and update you at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately, there's not much more I can offer than that." Closing pleasantries exchanged, he takes his boys back to the house in Snowdin.

 **"hehe, pap. you got it everywhere!"** Sans laughs, wiping sauce off of his skull and from the bottom of his eye socket. Gaster's... well, his _everything_ was covered. It was really funny to his boys seeing their normally clean and tidy father covered in spaghetti and sauce. Sans spots a few stray strands on Gaster's head and ends up creased over until he can't bring air into his ribcage any more. **"you... gave... dad... hair..."** He eventually managed to wheeze out breathlessly, while gaster himself laughed and started removing the offending strands. **"now… he...looks... like... an... impasta!"**

"NYEEEEEEH!" Little papyrus's shriek of displeasure only makes Sans laugh harder, and if it hadn't been for the moment earlier in the school, Gaster never would have thought there was anything wrong. Mind you, Sans was seeming like he was going to be the sort of monster to get really upset by things then all of a sudden shrug it off and keep on going. Maybe. They go through bath time with just as much mess, and giggles, but eventually manages to get all three of them changed into dry pajamas and the youngest settled for bed in his crib.

"Sans, would you like come sit up with me for a bit?" He asks Sans, knowing that he would almost certainly be chomping at the bit for the chance. He didn't have school tomorrow, and maybe he could try bringing earlier up again. He, on a low volume so as not to disturb papyrus, sets up the VHS he'd found once – a documentary on the solar system and the stars. It was Sans' favourite, and he quite liked it too. He found he didn't need to bring up the issue of earlier with the child, he found, as Sans spoke up before he did, pausing the tape about halfway into it. Obviously he was feeling comfortable and settled enough to talk to him... he knew his child far too well, it seemed. The though brings another fond smile to his face.  
 **"dad...? what do the numbers mean? the ones in monsters?"** poor kid sounded half asleep, too. Gaster raised an eyebrow. **"like you, you gots your numbers-"** yawn **"-like everyone else does."**  
"It's a bit late for this." And that smile vanished, somehow knowing in his marrow that this was going to be a heavy conversation ahead of them. He was met by two stubborn pinpricks of light, and he's not even sure that he should _have_ this conversation at all. "But you're not going to drop this tonight, are you?"  
 **"nope. i asked at school when i first saw 'em, but they just said that monsters are made of magic and souls not numbers."** His child gives a huff of frustration, sounding much like himself over a difficult piece of research in the lab.  
"Well... they are made of magic and souls, but that doesn't mean there's no numbers. They're just not… visible." Sans frowned at him, ready to speak. He holds up a hand. "Wait for me to finish. Monsters are made of compassion and kindness, right? This means that everytime they hurt someone, it leaves a mark on their soul. We call these marks EXP and they add up to LOVE, which is... a level, in a sense." He spares the younger skeleton from an explanation of the acronyms, because all the while Sans nods, that means he is understanding somewhat and that's enough for Gaster. Plus, there's only so dark he can go with a child.  
 **"do you think… that's what… the numbers are?"  
** "I've never heard of a monster being able to see them as actual numbers. We can see certain 'stats' through a *CHECK but that doesn't reveal EXP and LOVE normally. They can be revealed through more in-depth scans like in the lab's SOUL research area, however."

 **"hmmm."** He hums thoughtfully, and Gaster can see the little Skelly's mind churning over on that information. Another yawn seals the deal, though.

"Right, young man. Time for bed."  
 **"'m not tired."** But his protests turn into squeals of giggles as Gaster stands and swoops him under an arm. **"no, daddy, put me down!"** He demands unconvincingly, and bedtime continues as if the discussion had never happened on the little one's part. Gaster, however, fills in his journal carefully with his thoughts from the evening before falling into a restless sleep.

Gaster makes a decision in the morning, resolving to try and solve this as much and as soon as possible because it was obviously weighing Sans down from the reactions yesterday. He watches his eldest feed Papyrus oatmeal, both of them full of their usual rambunctious energies. Gaster cleaned them both up for day, and forewent the stroller and carried Papyrus over to Grillby's with sans holding a hand and trailing along by a few inches despite how hard his little legs were trying to keep up with his fathers longer strides. After they said goodbyes to Papyrus and started making their way towards the castle then subsequently the lab, Sans was regurgitating a bunch of facts about how the core was going to work once it was up and running as they went. He was actually doing a good job of remembering some of the bigger things, needing minimal prompting even if the little one had _no idea_ what more than half the words coming out of his own mouth were - mind you, he was pretty good about asking when he didn't understand a word so maybe, Gaster thought, he did understand in as much as a child could. His eldest, though still rather young, was already proving himself to take after his father in the more studious respects. Eventually, the excited rambling trailed off, and his pace slowed the further they got into the bustle between hotlands and new home. He looks down at Sans whose pupils are darting from monster to monster, scanning them vacantly with hazy and dim pupils. _What am I going to do with you?_ Gaster asks himself as he lifts Sans onto his shoulders, sighing a little when there's no response to the action either good or bad. He quickened his pace as he heads to the lab, deciding to forego dropping in on Asgore as he was planning to beforehand, nearly knocking someone over in his about-turn.  
"Hey, watch where you're walking!" the elderly gentleman shook his cane at them angrily. But before Gaster can apologize, a distant voice comes from over his head.  
 **"...numbers are so big."** Little bony phalanges suddenly dig into the top of Gaster's skull as his son tenses up like a cat seeing a snake. **"what did you do? what did you do?"**  
"Ow, Sans, I would like a skull left." He starts reaching up to try and dislodge the child.  
"I am a war veteran, do you dare let him speak to me like that? I deserve respect." the elderly gentleman puffed up. "Besides, you walked into me!"

With effort, he manages to dislodge the boy who's getting increasingly upset and loud, drawing attention, turning him into his chest and trying to calm him. "My apologies, _sir_ " he adds a layer of vitriol to the word, but not quite enough to be rude, "but as you can see my son is sick with a sudden fever, and I simply didn't notice you as I turned to go and get him some help. Now I bid you _good day_ so I can go and get him looked at as soon as possible." He stares coldly at the elderly gentleman before walking off. Now that his view has been blocked, Sans seems to be calming down, now just rattling quietly as he shakes against him.

The rest of the journey to the lab passes quietly, and soft snores tell him that Sans fell asleep shortly after the confrontation. He sets him down on the couch in his office, and starts pulling out some information on soul research to see if he can make any headway while Sans is still sleeping -even if it was just confirming or denying what it is he was seeing. It's an hour and a half later when his son starts to stir, and Gaster still only has theories.

 **"da...ddy..?"** he speaks up sleepily from where he's laid.  
"Good evening, lazy bones." he teased his son gently. "How do you feel?"  
 **"mmm…. tired. and my head hurts. but the numbers have gone for now."** Sans sits himself up, rubbing his eyes then perking up. **"oh. we're at the lab already."  
** "Yes. Do you think… you would be up for some tests? To see if we can find out what you're seeing?"  
 **"'spose."** Sans nods, if a little reluctantly. He starts shifting himself off the couch, and Gaster chuckles. Sans follows him to the more medical side of the lab where they meet up with one of his team to start some scans. It doesn't escape Gaster's notice that Sans is much quieter than he usually is here - he loved going to the lab normally, asking incessant questions and having to be discouraged from touching anything periodically. But he also knows from visits to try and determine the HP issue that Sans has that his son _hates_ the scanners - not the Gaster blames him at all. He places him on the seat behind the scanner, trying not to think about the fact that it is normally fallen down monsters in the device. He gives his son's hand a small reassuring squeeze as the machinery whirs into life under the watchful gaze of the wide-eyed monster working down here tonight.  
"Hmm, the readings here are a little… different than what one would expect for a child of his age but his usual level of different. Has he started manifesting any magic yet?"  
"No. Not that I know of, other than-"  
 **"am i sick?"  
** "No, no." The eyes soften at him, and the assist gives him a smile. "They're just looking a little high, sweet pea." The affectionate name makes him giggle.  
"Sans. Can you… try looking at the numbers again?"  
 **"i don't know. i don't… i can try."** He watches as his son steels himself. Sans doesn't like seeing the numbers much, Gaster was getting that message quickly. He watches as his son's gaze goes distant, focused and unfocused simultaneously like he was looking through him. The expression brings a crawling sensation to his spine. The assistant raises his attention again.  
"The levels have raised, but no more than you would expect from a monster using magic. This seems to be some sort of primary manifestation of what is going to form his magic by what I can tell. Everything else is reading fine - except the hp which hasn't raised at all since the last time he was here. But, well, he's active enough and happy as far as I can tell, so the hp doesn't seem to be an issue. Although it is worrying that it hasn't raised at all with age or activity…"  
 **"so... i _am_ sick?"  
**"No, no. I keep telling you that as long as it's not making you tired out or making you feel bad, you just need to be careful." He shoots a look at the assistant, who takes the hint and moves on.  
"Do you want a check up while you're in here doc? Getting you in for one is a right pain in the-"  
 **"coccyx!"** Sans cuts in. The assistant creases up laughing, as does his son.  
"Yeah, yeah. You two laugh it up." Gaster pokes his sans in the ribs, whose pupils have faded back in as he's giggling.  
 **"you gotta to have your check up too. you promised forever ago, 'member? when I get one, you get one - that was the deal."  
** "Fine." He gives in to the small skeleton with an overly dramatic sigh. They swap places, and the assistant pulls Sans onto her lap. She points out a few of the chart breakdowns and reassure him that everything is fine and nothing about his dad had changed. He sees his son looking over the charts, probably checking them against hazy memories of last time, then Gaster hears his son point out-  
 **"those! those are his numbers! well, some of 'em."** He hears the excited tapping of bone on the screen.  
"Can you print them off?" Gaster asks the assistant. She does so with an affirmative nod, and Gaster pushes the scanner aside.  
 **"hey, doc, can you find your numbers with that too?"** A note of excitement creeps in, obviously pleased at getting either proof or back-up. **" _please_."  
**"Well, how can I say no to you when you ask so nicely?" She chuckles, sitting herself down and pulling the scanner across. "Dr. Gaster, Sans might need some-"  
 **"nope, you pressed this button-"** click **"-then this one and this one."** Two more clicks and the sound of a printer throwing out information accompanies the sound of Sans' proud proclamations of **"see? i did it!"** as the assistant stands and gives him a smile and a proud pat on the head.

"Sans, can you tell me what the numbers are you see, and I'll check them on the paper?"  
 **"for who?"  
** "Both of us?"  
He grumbles in displeasure. **"but it gives me headache when i _try_ to see them."** He narrows his eye sockets at Gaster. Wait for it, wait for it… **"you owe me nice cream for this."  
** There it is. He laughs under the weight of his son's stare. "Okay, okay. Sounds like a deal to me."  
There's a small celebration, and the assistant can't help but laugh along, until suddenly she's faced with the young skeleton's stare. It was like cold ice water made of bugs running up and down her spine. As she was being… 'read' was the term she was going to use… she recognised her hp but not the other numbers. She looks at Dr. Gaster, if nothing else so she could look away from the little one. She watches his face go thoughtful as Sans lists off a string of numbers.  
"...Doc…?"  
"Thank you, that will be all." He dismisses her with a wave, and to be honest she wasn't in the mood for sticking around after that sensation. She looks back over her shoulder as she leaves, to see him covering his son's eyes when he wasn't responding and snapping him out of whatever… _that_ was.  
"Hey, buddy. Hey." He smiles as the pupils focus in on him after a few lazy blinks. "Are you okay?"  
 **"i'll be better after some nice cream."** Sans sighs, slumping against him. Gaster chuckles quietly.  
"Yeah, I know. I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

The rest of the weekend passes like normal, although normal is not exactly 'normal' when it comes to having a child and a toddler in the house. But it passes relatively pain free, and Monday comes around too soon. Papyrus is at Grillby's, and Sans is on his way to school. He's quiet, which Gaster is quickly learning he doesn't like much. "What's wrong, Sans?"  
 **"...tired."  
** "And what's actually wrong?"  
 **"...are you going to tell ms. hudder that she was wrong?"** The little boots kick snow gently.  
"Not in those words, but I will be talking with her. Why?" A shrug is the only reply. "Do you not want me to?"  
 **"it's not that. i…"** He waits patiently for Sans little skull to articulate whatever is going on in there. **"one of the bigger classes has a boy with bigger numbers. i don't know his name but… he's scary. can you tell them about his numbers as well?"** That's not what he was expecting, especially as he hadn't actually told Sans what he had found out about the numbers and that thought worried him a lot. Mind you, even if he doesn't understand the meanings of the numbers it makes sense that he would react accordingly to them if it was intrinsincly linked to his magic.

"Yes, I will speak to them. Now time for you to go, okay?" Sans nods and runs off into class, seeming to perk up immensely. Gaster flags the teacher down before they start class.

"Ahh, Dr. Gaster. Did you have any luck?"  
"I did. He's mentioned seeing numbers to you before?" She nods, but he cuts her off before she can speak with a cold edge underlying his voice. "I don't appreciate that being left out of the conversation we held. It turns out that what he's seeing is likely some early manifestation of whatever form of magic he is going to hold."  
"Oh… my apologies, I didn't think about that. Normally ones so young don't-"  
"I am well aware. If he comes to you claiming to see something, you will not dismiss it and it will be reported to me immediately from now on if things escalate or he reports seeing anything new or unusual. I would also ask you track frequency of episodes. Furthermore, he has asked if you know anything about one of the boys in the older classes in the upper part of the school. He's claiming that he's scary, and I have reason to believe that he may be bullying the other students or have caused harm in some way to some-." He doesn't tell her why, especially as the skin under her fur goes ashen. "I see you know _exactly_ who I am talking about."  
"There is a problem… we are trying to get to the bottom of it, but the child in question has no contact with the younger stages of the school. He wouldn't have been able to bully Sans in any capacity, so how does-"  
"The easiest way to explain it is that the numbers he sees are giving him a sense of how a person behaves. That's why he's prone to zoning out, he does not currently seem to be able to control the magic and I believe it is overwhelming him. If you struggle to get him to focus, I suggest removing him to a quiet area and covering his eye sockets if that alone doesn't bring him around. Not for long, I have found a period of seconds is usually enough."  
"O-oh… well, I guess we can manage that."  
"If you have any problems, do not hesitate to call myself or Grillby. One of us will be by as soon as possible." She nods, and he turns on his heel without so much as a farewell.

Things go smoothly for a grand total of 3 weeks.

"Hello, Dr. Gaster? We need you at the school immediately. Sans is- well, there was an incident and he's currently unresponsive. We've called a healer through to come see to him while we wait for you to arrive." He hangs up and makes his way directly to the school, not even taking time to excuse himself from his project. He throws open the doors to the lower school area and rushes towards the group of people by his son. Sans seems to be sleeping, but if it was as simple as that, he never would have been called in. "What is happening?"  
"Well, somehow one of the older students-" he doesn't miss how the teachers eyes refuse to look at him "-got lost while trying to escape and play hooky. He ended up in this area of the school, and as the younger students approached and tried to make friends... he, well, reacted badly. Several of the smaller students got injured. But they're fine, and have been healed!" She adds quickly. He looks back to his sleeping son with impatience, and obviously the look said enough. "Sans wasn't one of the injured. But when people started getting hurt, he was able to get around the staff trying to manage the situation. He told them to stop it but his eyes were… well, the right eye was blank and the left was full of a blue… glow? I've never seen anything like it. Before we could intervene, he'd hit the older child with a barrage of attacks, white and blue bones and he even managed to push them away with some form of what we can only call telekinesis. We managed to pull him away after that, and he's been sleeping ever since he calmed down."  
Gaster sits down next to him and pulls Sans into his lap trying his best to rouse him. No response. "Was the other child hurt?"  
"Luckily, no. We assume it's because the magic is so new to Sans and not yet under control, but the physical damage done was minimal considering that a large amount of the attacks passed through him. However… he has also fallen into a quiet state and refuses to talk to-"  
"Honestly, I don't care about the other's condition beyond whether or not he was injured. I flagged this up as a possible problem, and now it's become a problem." He stands, keeping Sans tucked up comfortably in a cradle. He's too big for just one arm anymore, but just barely. "between this incident and the fact it sounds like he's going to need to be taught how to get a handle on his magic sooner rather than later, I think it would be best if I withdrew him for homeschooling." There's no argument from anyone. "You can send any necessary paperwork to my home. That will be all." He sweeps out of the room without waiting any longer.

Sans wakes up under the scanner and promptly starts freaking out. He screams and screams for what feels like hours, although it is only a couple of seconds in reality, before he registers his dad's hands on him and the soothing baritone of his voice.  
 **"don't like it, don't like it!"  
** "Hey now, just relax. The scan's nearly finished, promise."  
 **"s-scan…?"** His brain catches up to where he is. The lab. The medical scanner. **"what…?"  
** "Levels are good doc. They've settled back to… well, where they were the other day."  
"You've been asleep for a long while, Sans. What's the last thing you remember?"  
 **"uhh… the scary kid got into the classroom… and... and… he…"** he struggles to remember and Gaster watches as the left pupil flares yellow and blue. He gasps, before taking Sans' hands in his.  
"It's ok…. It doesn't matter now. You're okay." The pupil fades and his white pupils fade back in.

The little skeleton curls up in his lap, shaking and crying. "I think… you're going to need a few more scans. Not right away, but we'll get to the bottom of this. Promise."

Well. They always say the road to hell is paved by good intentions.


	2. Chapter 2 - new arrivals

As I am apparently doing a skele-fic (Who knew? |D) Fonts are going to be mentioned. My own personal headcanon is that 'Fonts' are like accents, affecting the way words are said. So, Gaster's font, being Wingdings, is like trying to listen to a broad highland scotsman after 30 pints as someone who comes from the south of england. He's... definitely making words, but you have no idea what he's trying to say. (I love a scottish accent, btw. Completely unrelated, I know, but I figure it is a good comparison hehe). Sans' tendency to round fonts is like having a west country accent as another example. and if my spellings don't make it abundently clear I am english, there you are. *hides* And no, not saying those are the exact accents they have, just how they affect the speech patterns.

With that out of the way... please enjoy :)

* * *

 _Set before the last chapter_

* * *

"DR. GASTER! YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY!"

The door to his lab slams open, and a rather harried looking assistant sticks their head in the room as the announcement blares. "Med lab!" And they're gone. Gaster discards what he's doing and follows without hesitation. They all but run to the med lab, moving in a hasty and tense silence. The doors swoosh open, and he's greeted by the sight of every healer in the building either snapping instructions or following said instructions around a small table in the middle of the room. Everything else except a scanner has been moved to the edge of the room.

Gaster steps into the hustle like he has been there the whole time.

"Situation?"

"HP dropped lower than 1, but stable at a decimal which is something I've not seen before. The older patient had severe trauma to skull, especially right eye socket. We've been able to repair this already, however the soul seems to be unstable but refusing to break, but their maximum hp is also dropping at an alarming rate, and we can't figure out how to stabilise it. Won't let go of the other patient. Other patient completely stable and seemingly unhurt. Nothing known about either patient other than the royal guard found them out in waterfall and bought them here immediately."

That draws his eyes to the table. Two little skeletons lay there, the bigger of the two has his arms completely wrapped around a smaller one which is wrapped in a blanket bundle.

He thought he was the last one left. What-?

Doesn't matter. Save them, then ask questions.

"We've tried everything we can think of."  
"Everything?"  
"Except for magical cell transplantation to try and prompt his own magic to hold itself together, but cross-species compatability is low in adults, we wouldn't attempt it on a child in this situation."

Gaster nods at them. So, that's why they'd called him down. He was fine with this. "Begin the process."

They try to move the smaller child from the bigger, but they have no success. Gaster even tries to remove it with blue magic, but somehow the child still manages to hold on. Gaster speaks soothingly to the seemingly older skeleton, taken by a moment of _almost_ parental instinct, and knowing that he wouldn't be able to see as his eye sockets were firnly closed, Gaster has someone speak softly for him reading the signs his hands form.

"Come now, little one. He's safe, you did well. We are going to take good care of him too, but you need to let go of him now so we can heal you properly. We could hurt him accidentally, if we try to save you with him there."

Everyone pauses for a moment, then the vice-like grip on the small blanket bundle releases. Two assistants lift it gently from him, and rush him to a small plastic crib at the side of the room they'd pushed aside earlier. Everyone lets out a breath they were holding collectively, and the moment of almost peace melts back into bustle. Gaster places both his hands over the ribcage and nods ready.

"We're going to channel your magic straight to his soul and using healing magic, hopefully it will take and hold it together."  
"I'm becoming magic duct tape for hopefully?" He wasn't taken to sarcasm in urgent situations usually, but it comes out of his mouth before he can stop it.  
"Yes." The lead assistant doesn't even look up from her prep, talking as she moves. "Even in adults, even with same-species transfers, success is not guaranteed. The nature of souls is finicky and the nature of healing them is even more so. Children are an added complication due to the unstable nature of their magic, having yet to mature enough to manifest it correctly which is part of the stabilization process towards adulthood. Also, we are further complicating things by using matured magic to attempt to heal the child. They-"  
"He. Number of ribs and pelvic area." even with the clothing and sheet, one skeleton knows what to look for in another.  
"Sorry. _He_ may not be able to accept your magic to bolster his own enough to heal just down to the nature of the difference in age. Hands over his soul and keep them there, focus your intent on fixing. And even if everything comes off fine without a hitch-" green starts coming from every pair of hands around him "-there may still be side effects or unforseen issues in the future. It could be emotionally due to the fact the magic would be holding together a soul that should have broken, it may be issues with his manifestations due to it being forced to accept mature magic prematurely, if he can even manifest at all. It could be all of the above, or he could lead a perfectly happy and healthy and uneffected life. If it is successful at all. We don't know. This is an all new territory for us, as we have never had to use an adult to donor for a child."

He doesn't miss how her tone softens at the end. "Even if we had another skeleton child to fetch, we wouldn't have time to do the fetching. We would still be in the same situation. Do as you must."

And with that, the assistant finishes up quietly after a nod and they're ready to begin. The lab falls into a tense silence as they work, except for a small hesitation when the magic starts visibly effecting gaster, who snaps at them to continue.

"S-sorry, Doctor, we had no idea that…"  
"It's fine." He shrugs off the concern. "You are sure he's stable now?"  
"Yes, all his scans have come back with slightly strange but positive results, which we can monitor but it's not unexpected due to the nature of the procedure. The maximum HP has not yet risen back up, but he's alive and I am sure that through the normal means it can be raised. We would recommend you yourself go rest up, we can bandage you and give you some pain relief if your hands and skull are giving you trouble."  
"No need. They aren't painful, and really …" he stares down at the new holes in his hand. "It's a small price to pay, in the end, isn't it?"  
"... We thank you." The assistant settles for with a courteous nod. Sacrifices still don't sit well with the medical monsters but it seems to be for the best right now. _Normally_ , one of the assistants who had been greatly upset over the cost of saving the little one explained tearfully, _donors are either monsters who are fallen down or related. Especially the second one with children; siblings is most common. Never without informed consent. Maybe we shouldn't have-_ He'd stopped her there, assuring her it was fine and dismissing her for today to give her time to soothe herself and destress.

A shrill cry pulls all of their attention, and someone goes hurrying over to the littlest skeleton who has awoken and begun crying almost immediately. As they're trying to quiet him, the elder shoots up to consciousness, clawing at his chest and gasping wordlessly, pain on every inch of his face. HTen it looks like he's going to move out of bed, even through the pain, pupils darting around the room to find the source of the noise.

"He's not supposed to be awake yet, he won't heal if he doesn't-"

The room becimes a flurry of hands rushing to try and stop the elder little skeleton. He struggles under the many hands that are trying to keep him in place, trying to keep him still with the best of intentions. He's having none of it, and Gaster sees that his arms are reaching out for-

"Give him the smaller child." The commotion freezes like he just stopped time. "And get them both some food. Now."

Everyone snaps to action. He runs a hand over his face, feeling the other parts of him that were used as donors unwittingly, feeling exhausted. That sensation was going to be one to get used to, but at least the lines were clean and painless. They were just... missing, not broken or sliced. He'd refused their offer of an in-depth check up. He watches the elder immediately settle and as he quietly holds the baby, cogs ticking over in his skull by the looks of things. Then he looks back at Gaster, and he notices the eyesockets take the curve of his grin at the bottom. He nods in response to the gratitude. The little ones are bought food, which the older slowly and carefully feeds the younger before slowly eating himself. Gaster watches in quiet contemplation, looking at the two little mysteries that had fallen into his lap suddenly. They were very young, the oldest must have only been about 4 years in age at a guess, give or take in either direction, and the little bundle was probably 18 months at most. Gaster was _sure_ that he was the last of his kin, and yet here they were and if they were this young, they must surely have parents somewhere. He shoots a quick test to Grillby, knowing that if anyone would know anything it would be him between the guards that drink there and the fact that the fire elemental probably knows everyone whether through the grapevine or through age.

 _*Have you heard anything about more skeletons in the underground?_

He doesn't want to say anything more or less just yet. He feels an odd sense of protectiveness over the two patients, between them being lost kin and the fact they're so… tiny. He sighs at himself - Tiny-ness shouldn't be a factor. Then there's the fact that the older one is being held together by magic that had literally taken parts of him.

He goes and sits by the children, getting a stare from the older one but the child doesn't move away save for shifting the younger one protectively.

"Do you have names?" The pupils flick between his mouth and the magic signing hands, and his head cocks questioningly. It was worth a try, at least, but Gaster wasn't expecting much different.  
"He asked if you have names." One of the assistants comes over and translates. She receives the same look and silence.  
Gaster puts his hand on his chest. "Gaster." And a moment's delay before it's repeated in common font. The little brow bone furrows, and they give him a moment to think on it. Then, the left hand touches his leg, and he hears "gaster." but oddly, It's repeated in his personal font. It's more roundedl, but it's a near perfect mimic other than that. Then, " **gaster**?" This time in common font, mimicking again but this time Gaster was able to hear the child's own font. Again, it's curved and rounded, a lazy drawl probably tinged in humour under normal circumstances.  
"Sounds like we've got a fast learner here Doc."  
"Indeed it does." He replies with a smile, fondness welling in his chest. He puts his hand on the child's chest, and simply says "Comic Sans." The child screws his face up in something that looks like disgust, which makes Gaster chuckle. "No? That's your font, which would be your name traditonally. Hmm…" he taps his chin. "How about just 'Sans' then?" the assistant repeats just the name, which earns a repetition in both fonts.  
"A fast learner and stubborn. Sounds like you're going to have your hands full until we find who they belong to."  
"Why do I have a feeling I should apologize to my parents retroactively?" Gaster says still with a fond smile, and the assistant barks a laugh.  
"I think we all should do that, to be honest." She gently lays back the skeleton now named 'Sans' and says to him gently - "Sleep, little one." She shuts her eyes, laying her head on the pillow next to him so he can see it, and smiles at him. "Sleep."

The word is mimicked, and he closes his eyes. The toll of the day doesn't take long to catch up to him and he curls around his companion (Gaster is assuming brother from behaviour, but then there is also very very little resemblance in bone structure so he couldn't say for sure) and drifting off into sleep quickly. The assistant gives the little skeleton's skull a stroke as she straightens up, and puts a hand on Gaster's shoulder. "You should sleep too, Doc. It's taken a lot out of you both. Give us a call if you get any problems with anything."  
"Thank you. I shall stay long enough to make sure they are settled well, but I think I'll spend the night in the overnight room."  
"As you wish." She nods, and leaves to continue her shift for the night. As he sits listening to the sound of them softly sleeping, Gaster's phone alerts him to a text.

 _*You are the last I know of. Why are you asking again after so long?_

 _*You will have to see it to believe it._  
He sends a picture of the two sleeping children. He doesn't have to wait long for a response.

 _*Cute. This explains what the dog couple were talking about earlier. Royal guards are trying to find parents, I will let you know if I hear anything._

 _*Thank you._  
He goes to slip his phone away, then sends a second text to him.  
 _*Cannot get to library at the moment. Would you please be able to get some early learning books? Pre-school sort of age._

 _*Will be with you soon._

He puts his phone away, and goes to leave the room, but finds himself lingering in the doorway. Again, that little protective flutter in his chest, but he tells himself that logically the best option is to sleep in the chair as if the little ones wake it is best for them to see a face they are familiar with.

Yes, logically the best option.

That's how he ends up napping in a chair next to the bedside until he's woken by an intern who'd come to find him to let him know he has a visitor. Grillby catches his eye in the doorway, and he gestures wearily. Now that he's had some sleep, but not quite enough, he can feel the effect of sharing magic with Sans. His friend enters, and passes the stack of books.  
"What happened?" Concern crackles through his flame as he takes in Gaster's appearance. Faster gives him the entire rundown, and Grillby listens intently. Concern crackles stronger as he does. "Do you know what happened to them for them to get in that state?"  
"It is a waiting game at this time - either he learns enough language to tell us, or find the parents. At the minute it is hard to tell if he doesn't know words because of a developmental delay or simply because he was taught some other way of communicating or in a language none of us know - he hasn't spoken save for learning my name and the word sleep. Regardless, those the only ways we are going to find out in this case." he gets a nod in response.  
"Where are they staying? Here?"  
"For the time being. Once they are settled, I will return home."  
"Let me know if you need anything else then." Grillby nods as he says it, and takes his leave.

Gaster has nothing else to do but sleep, so that's what he does.

The next week is spent on recovery for both of them. Gaster finds himself loathe to leave the little ones at all, and also finds them growing on him quickly. The smallest skeleton makes himself to be known to be very vocal very quickly, despite it being wordless baby talk. The elder is quieter, but repeats everything told enthusiastically, eager and quick to learn. Both are full of energy, but it's readily apparent that Sans is quick to tire, often found crashing out suddenly if he does too much or under high amounts of stress. Mind you, Gaster himself finds himself tiring faster than normal, also, and he is assured it is just from the stress of the procedure they underwent.

Nothing is heard of as to where they came from; if the underground had a sky, they may well have fallen from it.

He's sat watching Sans and as-yet nameless child number two, Sans showing and repeating the words in the book when he watches the oldest boy pause on a page. He swears he can see the cogs turning in the skull behind the pupils in his eye sockets. He pokes at the baby gently, and says with delight " **brother** " and connecting the meaning of the word in the book with the younger skeleton. The little one giggles at the contact, picking up on the b sound and repeating it with gusto. Suddenly, he makes eye contact with the older one and-  
"BUBA! BUBA!"  
Sans stares at him, and then wraps him in a massive hug, tears streaming. The little one's font is one that's as different as his (apparently) brother's, neither font was common when skeletons were more prolific in the underground.  
"Sans." Sans ignores him, cheering on his little brother, and Gaster goes over to them. "Sans, look." This time he pauses, looking at Gaster quizzically and with an edge of frustration like he was sure that nothing Gaster would have to input right now would be nowhere as important as the youngest skeleton's new advancement.  
To be fair, Sans is almost right. _Almost._ Gaster puts his hand on the little skeleton's chest (which makes him squeal happily) and grins at the elder skeleton. "Papyrus."

There's a beat as he stares at Gaster, and tilts his head considering. Then he points at the assistant who is clearing around the children, humming to herself. Gaster draws her attention and spells out the name of the little one for her to announce the name out of his font for Sans to hear it both ways. Sans thinks about it, and nods decisively. " **papyrus. it's good.** " The tone is firm and happy. Papyrus picks up on the happiness surrounding him right now, and starts repeating his word for brother excitedly again which Sans revels in and encourages fully. Suddenly, with no warning, Sans tilts forward and quiet snores can be heard from him face down on the floor after a couple of moments. Laughs erupt all around, and Gaster hands off Papyrus before he can start drumming on his brother's head (as the little one has been known to do when he crashes in front of him, completely unpeturbed) to be fed while he picks up Sans and settles him on the bed they had been using, chuckling quietly to himself. "Too much excitement for you, hmm?"

It's another week in much the same vein, and still no word to say in either direction as far as their origins are concerned. A month passes quickly, and Asgore has caught wind of the two new additions to the underground in this time, but has now finally been able to make time to visit the area set aside from the healer's wing that has been temporarily modified. Papyrus had been quick to be friendly, but half an hour in and Sans had sat watching them interact without interacting himself, sat silently watching on edge as the imposing figure of the king gently played with his brother. Gaster goes and picks the child up, placing him on his hip in the hopes his tense frame will relax. The eye sockets never leave the two, even as the tension eases a little.

Asgore looks up at the two of them, and laughs quietly. Gaster raises a brow bone in his direction.  
"It suits you, you know. Never thought I would see the day."  
Gaster is puzzled. Very, very puzzled. "What?"  
"Well. You're obviously very taken with these two."  
"Oh." The hint is as subtle as a tonne of bricks. Gaster considers it for a moment, but shakes his head with a small sigh. "yes, they have proved to be very endearing for sure. However, it's not like that. Once the family are found-"  
" **no.** " The voice drifts from his side, bony fingers tightening their hold on him.  
"What's up, little one?" Asgore asks, a touch of concern in his voice. He had recognised that word without a sign.  
Gaster looks down at him. "No? No what? No family?"  
" **no family like in book - brother, sister, mommy, daddy. no… house?** " He thinks on that, decides it's not the right word for what he means, and shakes his head before continuing. " **just brother. just pap and sans**." Sans repeats softly. He then puts his hand on Gaster's chest, the way he associates names with people. everything he's said has been in his rounded approximation of Gaster's font, the way he seems to learn best and put new thoughts together. Gaster wonders if that's because he's spent the most time with them or one of the as-yet mysterious but possible 'side effects'. His musings crash to a hard and full stop as Sans finally speaks again. " **gaster. gaster daddy**."

And oh stars above, Gaster feels his eye sockets well. This was not what he signed up for. Damn it all.

"What? What did he say?"  
Caught up in the moment and forgetting signing to translate to Asgore and unintentionally leaving him out of the loop, he replies "Is that really what you want? That's… very fast."  
He gets a small shrug in response. " **i… uhhn… i… me...** " Sans huffs in frustration, not knowing the words he wanted. He touches himself, then touches the new slivers of skull that are missing on Gaster's face. His little face is resolute.  
"Ah, so the gravity of the situation was not lost on you after all, even if you don't know the words for it. I did wonder." He smiles fondly at Sans, who cocks his head.  
" **big words. don't know them big words**." his brow furrows again, trying to find the words again to make his thoughts known. Gaster just waits patiently, having almost completely forgotten Asgore was there. Sans tuts himself, frustration levels rising quickly. Gaster goes to stop him, worried he was going to stress himself into a crash, but then there's a small nod from the child. " **nearly not sans. now me and pap... and gaster. and learning, and fun. want all of it. you…** " Gaster notices the hesitant and almost sad edge to the last part of his thought. " **you not want it?** "

"I…" Who was he kidding? It might not be what he signed up for, but he'll take it more than happily. "I think I do."

Sans grins, now relaxed and seemingly content, and turns his attention back to watching Asgore.

Oh, damn, Asgore.

Asgore who is looking both puzzled and amused. Gaster summons hands so he won't have to put Sans down, throwing out signs at a rapid pace.  
"Sans says there's no family, just the two brothers. At first he said no house, but I don't know if he knows what he meant by that. Which doesn't answer where they come from, or the parent question, but does explain why there has been no word about a family."  
Asgore thinks on this, then grins. "that wasn't everything though, was it? I know that look you had."  
The hands pause, then continue somewhat slower. "He seems to understand more than we thought about the situation we found them in. I had doubted that he was old enough to, given his young age." The hands formed 'doubted' but the mind says 'hoped'. "Due to this and the subsequent time spent together with the two little ones has prompted him to…" the hands falter, he can feel the pang of an unfamiliar pride. He grins despite himself. Then they form the word "dad" gaster unable to articulate anything more towards it

Asgore, predictably, melts like the big, fluffy softy he is. "How sweet! When are you taking them home?"

Gaster looks down at Sans, and finds he's fallen asleep. He yawns himself, two parts sympathy and one part feeling a little drained himself. "Admittedly, it was never in my plans. I believed we would find the family - hoped might be a better word."  
"For them or you, my friend?" Asgore asks simply. Gaster sighs, Asgore knew him too well.  
"For all of us. It would mean I wasn't the last, and would mean the little ones are going back to a loving home."  
Asgore picks Papyrus up in his massive paws, eliciting a round of giggles. Gaster's bony sloth attached to his side stirs slightly in response, but doesn't wake. He hands the baby to Gaster in his free hand, and smiles at the sight.

"Give it a couple of days, then take them home. You don't need any more skeletons to show up to give you exactly what you just described. Make the most of what you have. All _three_ of you."


	3. Chapter 3 - the incident

two in one day! Look at me go! After the fluff, the balance has been restored. Both, I'm sorry and you're welcome, depending on which side of the hurt/comfort fence you sit XD

* * *

It hadn't taken Sans long to master how to see the numbers by choice with his dad's help, which he was glad of because they didn't make him feel comfortable by any means. He had thought that after he figured that out, he'd be going right home. Five years after the school incident, however, still being on a medical bed in his own area showed him that he was mistaken on that point. Sans still couldn't muster an attack other than reflexively, he's also become 'too reliant' (not his words or opinion) on moving himself out of the way of danger rather than hitting first - he couldn't really help it, he would much prefer to let the attack pass rather than hitting first. It was like he had a voice inside telling him to wait until he couldn't anymore; dad seems to think he's just being lazy with it though. Didn't help that between dodging and trying to tap into his magic, he often had a crash. He's stopped lying to himself that once he mastered the attacks, he would be free to go home.

Sans rolled over to stare at the ceiling tiles, and huffed a sigh as he let his thoughts drift to the attendant on tonight. A dinosaur man who had no arms. Sans liked him a lot, the monster knew a lot and was the one who had the most patience for his jokes and pranks. He was probably the one he would call a friend.

" **hey.** "  
"Sans? You should be sleeping."  
" **eh. i got tired of it.** " The attendant chuckled.  
"That aside, you've got Papyrus coming in tomorrow, right? You'll need the energy."

Despite it all, he finds himself grinning happily. Pap's visits were the best thing to happen in this place.

" **yeah, true. wonder what he's learning in school this week**."  
"Ahh, the usual I imagine." Hahahaha, he says that like his formal schooling didn't end before the same age pap is now. Sure, dad homeschools him but he has a feeling his lessons are far from the usual stuff. A lot of it leaves him with a worse headache than trying to use magic for too long.  
" **quantum physics and the theoretical possibility of a mathematical basis for the soul based off numbers only you can see just like the rest of us then.** " It takes the attendant a good five minutes to stop laughing, even Sans himself was chuckling by the end of it tapering off.  
"Oh, geeze. I don't think I could even say the word 'quantum' at your age, let alone what it meant."  
" **well, it is a constant source of pain in the skull, and makes me tired down to the bone.** " That prompts a second, shorter round of laughter. But only from the other monster. For Sans, there's a sad twist to his soul and he finds his hands twisting up in his blankets and his eye sockets feeling damp. Damn it, he thought he was over feeling like this. "- **but at least when he's taught me what he needs to know, I can help him work… and that means… i'll have no reason to ever leave… right? ha, ha, just kidding.** " Tears stream down his face. Try as he might, he's a child and he's tired and he's scared and lonely.

Most of all, lonely.

"Aww, come on. No need for waterworks. You enjoy learning the science stuff, right?"  
" **but i want to learn it at home where I can see my brother whenever I want instead of on a schedule. we're buddies, yeah? you could talk to him for me... right…? coming from you or a grown up he might consider it, maybe?** "

Quiet hangs between them, the soft sound of keystrokes filling the air. "No can do, little dude. You know we gotta figure out what's going on in that weird little soul of yours and get that magic under control, right?" Despite the soft joking tone in the voice, the words crashed down around San's head. Observers, right. He'd made a mistake thinking that just because the monster had been softer with him meant that he might have actually liked him too. He follows up without the joking edge, but just as soft. Sympathy and pity layers his words - Sans hates it."Doc seems to think we're not too far off, so that's good, right?"

There are no friends down here.  
"Little dude?"

No family.  
"I was only joking when I called it was weird."

Just unending tests.  
"Hey, Sans, talk to me here. You're worrying me a little bit."

Unending secrets.

"i'm going to the bathroom." He slides himself out of bed and makes his way to his rooms ensuite, pushing the door closed softly. He cried until his soul felt like it was going to break, but he swore to himself as he dried his face that it was going to be the last time. Mind you, he told himself that every time. He looked up towards the corner of the room where he'd sussed the camera long ago. 'They are for your safety', yeah, right.

Sadness gave way to fear. ANGER.

Sans found Anger was probably the most powerful emotion of them over the last few years, and maybe the next few.

The emergency alarm alert and the phone jolt Gaster out of sleep simultaneously.  
"DADDY...?" Papyrus's voice sounds sleep-fogged voice comes drifting out of the room next to his. He hits the silence alert on the alarm, feeling a pit in his soul when he sees where it is based from.  
"Is he ok?!" He asks frantically answering the phone, not heeding tiny footsteps outside his room.  
"I...uhm…you need to get here as soon as possible, doc." The monster sounds terrified. He immediately starts to gather his things, summoning multiple hands to start grabbing them. "Sans-" a crash can be heard in the background, his assistant drops his phone.  
What in the name of Asgore is going on? He doesn't wait for the phone to be picked up again. All his things to hand, he turns on his heels and nearly trips over the hovering Papyrus.  
"IS HE HURT?"  
"...I don't know." He's going to have to take Papyrus with him, but if there really is something wrong… no, his child is too young and too scared to be left alone right now. He'll deal with the consequences, god knows it will only add to the pile of them.

 _yes, yes, destroy this place. you've been patient, it's only getting worse. he promised you and he broke it._

 _mind the monster, he's just doing his job. he doesn't deserve to get hurt._

 _they won't ever let you out, he won't ever let you out, so you need to make your own way out._

 _they're able to do better. do enough to leave, let them think about what they've done._

Conflicting, but not really conflicting, thoughts rattled through his skull as he continued his war path. Tear it all down. Don't hurt anyone unless necessary. Magic flared through every inch of him. Hot blasts of light, things hitting walls and smashing, bone tearing through objects as he threw them. He's not able to keep up with what's happening.  
He just wants to be out.

He keeps letting the anger drown him.

The doors open to let him in no sooner is he on the doorstep, and he's not wasting any time.  
"Where is he?"  
"He's almost up to the ground level. First floor foyer."  
"Keep Papyrus her-"  
"NO!" little bones cling onto him like some sort of slime monster trying to swallow him whole. There wasn't time to fight with him by the note in the monster's voice.

Gaster took the stairs two at a time.

He throws open the emergency doors and it is like nothing he's ever seen. He only has moments to take in the sight before he's ducking out of the way, a mid-way firing blaster had greeted his vision. _Blasters? But who? And how?_ He saw him then, stood in the middle of the decimated room. His frozen smile as empty as the right eye socket, the left eye socket filled with a burning light of cyan and yellow as his head was lifted slightly back. The left hand flicked down from where it was held at a right angle, blue glow surrounding it also wrapping the Furniture he'd not had time to realise was suspended in the air, or see, came crashing down around them, following the direction of the gesture. Gaster shielded Papyrus, but he needn't have. It seemed to be aimed as a warning rather than an attack, carefully hitting every space in a circle around him, only hitting them with debris that spread around them on impact. Papyrus cried out in shock, and he saw Sans pause.

"Sans it's me. And Papyrus." He feels magic wrap around his soul, and gravity pulls him down to his knees. Papyrus looks between his dad and Sans, and he notices Papyrus' soul is unaffected, not giving off the tell-tale blue glow. So does the child, as he untangles himself from his father and steps towards his brother.  
"SANS… STOP!" he notices the quaver in the littlest one's voice. He was scared. As his soul floods him with a fear for both of his boys, Gaster feels himself jerked down, but the only pain comes from his chin hitting the floor. "STOP HURTING DADDY, BROTHER!"

The only response is a low, slow blink. A blaster materializes and takes out the side wall in a burst of light and rubble. Papyrus ducks and gives a cry of terror, which makes the older skeleton look down at him. Another long, slow blink, but blue and cyan flicker in and out of darkness at the sound of the younger one's fear.

" **pap...y...rus…?** " Gaster's thrown across the room, hitting the wall behind them and remaining suspended there like a picture on a wall.

"NO, DADDY! BROTHER…" Gaster can hear the tears in his voice. "SANS, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" But he soldiers on regardless. That's his Papyrus… and it terrified him that he couldn't move an inch out of the blue magic - definitely gravity-based but rather than just dropping him it could hold and manipulate, like his hands and his own blue magic, the semi-detatched scientist part of his mind noted - to shield him from whatever was happening to his eldest son right now.

No, papyrus was Sans' world, he'd known that from the moment they had fallen into his lap.

He would have to trust he wouldn't hurt him.

But … could he? _Can I trust that right now?_

"I'M SCARED, SANS!" Sobs filled the quiet space between him and his sons, he sees tears drop to the floor from the youngest. Gaster feels the magic holding him flicker for a moment, before tightening on him almost painfully. He stays still, steels himself with a deep breath, and hopes that the little one can get through.

" **...don't cry… pap…** " Sans holds out his hands, beckoning his brother closer, eye light still blazing and left hand still glowing blue. Gaster can't help but cringe as Papyrus doesn't hesitate to run to him.

"PLEASE! STOP!" He wraps his arms around the bottom of Sans' ribcage, the most solid part of him he can reach.  
"can't… need to… come home…" He heard Sans voice hitch as well.

 _What have I done?_

"YOU CAN WHEN YOU'RE BETTER. DADDY SAID SO. HE PROMISED. REMEMBER?" The light dies from the eye socket. Papyrus is definitely going to outgrow him quickly, he can see that by the fact that despite the age difference, Papyrus' head is resting on the collarbone. "I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE THE TESTS. I KNOW YOU GET SCARED. I KNOW THEY MAKES YOU TIRED AND MAKES YOUR HEAD HURT. B-BUT DADDY WOULDN'T DO THEM IF HE DIDN'T NEED TO. THAT'S WHAT YOU TOLD ME, RIGHT?"

Gaster drops to the floor in an unceremonious heap as Sans finally responds and wraps himself around his brother, sobbing his soul out to the the little one. Gaster feels guilt gnaw at his soul as he listens to them both cry, neither using words any more. He pushes himself up from the floor and walks himself over to his boys, kneeling beside them both. He's at a loss what to say, and falling rubble punctuate the ambient silence around the boys in soft dusty clouds.

They're both exhausted enough they cry themselves to sleep on the floor, Gaster's unsure if it's a crash on Sans' part but at least he's safe and calm now. Neither of them stir beyond gripping the other tighter in their little tangled pile as summoned hands gently pick them both up without separating them. It makes his soul pang sadly, reminding him of how they'd been found. He takes goes to take the elevator before he realises the stairs are the only option at the moment; this floor's call point is sparking frantically, deep burn marks marring the metal and half-melting it, the doors completely missing and the actual elevator itself probably sitting at the bottom of the shaft in melted pieces judging by the large whole gouged feet into the stone of the cavern behind it. He takes the stairs wearily, down to what's left of the second floor medical wing. As he enters the blasted doors, his eye sockets widen.

There's nothing left except debris and cavern wall. He's glad to an extent that they built down rather than up, but… he looks over his shoulder at the small tangled lump of clothing and bone, hardly able to process that this came from the larger of the two unassuming figures who could barely muster up an attack on a good day. "What the fuck happened here, kiddo?" He wasn't taken to cursing, but there wasn't any other words coming to him right now.

"D-Doctor Gaster…?" Spines and scale poke out from behind a small pile of debris, and on seeing him the night assistant unfurled himself from his impromptu hiding spot looking around with terrified eyes. "I-is it over?"

"Yes, he exhausted himself. Judging by the destruction, he's going to be sleeping for the next few days. What happened?" He'd summoned hands as soon as he'd heard the second voice in the room. The dinosaur monster looks like he's about to go into shock at any moment, and Gaster sighs heavily. "Let us go get some tea and some rest first, and I'll find somewhere comfortable to leave these two. We'll have to take the stairs."

They walk back up to the ground floor in silence, the assistant not looking into the ruins of the first floor as they climb past them. They go to the staffing lounge, and the boys are placed on the couch, with him, a spare blanket fetched from the supply closet. The other spares are passed around the night staff that they had there, who had sought refuge on the higher floor. It's not long before quiet chatter starts up among them.

"Is he safe to be here?"

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Should we call the healers?"

"Shouldn't we be somewhere else? You know, away from-"

"I don't think anyone got hurt-"

"How far is this going to push back-"

"-lost data-"

"- what about The core-"

The noise was quickly growing into a rabble, until Gaster cleared his throat with meaning. Everyone quieted instantly.

"Is anyone hurt?" There's silence as everyone pulls quick *CHECKs on their hp, and one person speaks up quietly.

"Uhh… grand total of about 6hp lost across everyone. Lucky escape."

"Hmm." He doesn't sound convinced, and that pulls a room full of questioning looks. He remembers how that furniture rained around him. An inch either way, and he'd be looking at a fair chunk of missing hp himself, seeing as while his son's attacks didn't do large amounts of physical harm, furniture thrown with that much force and intent just might. "did anyone lose their hp to direct attacks?" More thoughtful silence as everyone stares at the hands that had formed the question for him, and a finally there's a room full of shaken heads. With that, a lot of the room's tension seeps away like oil down a drain. "Okay, so I don't think he was trying to harm anyone, or we'd be looking at a lot more dust by the state of the floors we lost."

There's more than a few shaky nods, before someone decides to speak up.

"So, what? We lost two floors of data, money, objects, time and research because of a temper tantrum?" A haughty voice cuts through the quiet.

"He is a _child_." Gaster replies coldly, and the owner of the voice sinks back. The signs had been stiff and jerky, conveying the tone just as well as his voice. He sighs, frustrated. "I think we might have all forgotten that. Even myself." _Especially myself_ , he thinks bitterly. "Either way, until he's awake we can only really guess at what was happening with him."

 _Can't… need to… come home…_

"He was talking about coming home again after lights out, doc." The assistant looking after him for the night finally speaks up shakily as the memory drifts to him. "It started out like normal, he seemed like he was in a fairly good m-mood. He was joking with me like normal, and until the subject of his brother's visit came up, everything seemed fine. Then he got real quiet, and there was some tears. Again, pretty normal." How… does a monster who lacks arms shrug? "well, I say normal. There's been a lot less of it over the last 18 months or so. However, it's not unusual for a child of his age, even if he seems to be getting used to the environment emotionally. He said about not going home again, sounded more like he was feeling like a prisoner to me, doc. I tried to joke with him to lighten the mood for him, but I think I might have accidentally made it worse. He just straight up stopped talking to me and headed for the bathroom. I could hear him sobbing through the door…" the assistant trailed off. He looked and sounded like he felt awful. He knew that the guy had a soft spot for his son, that's why he tried to leave them together as much as possible when Gaster had to be elsewhere.  
"It's not your fault." Gaster reassured him. The monster nods, and takes a breath to calm himself. He doesn't look any less sad or guilty, but he continues.  
"That went on for about 20 minutes. I thought he'd fallen asleep in there. Or crashed, you know? I was about to make my way in there, when there was this sound like… it sounded a bit like a laser powering up? Next thing I know, the room's filled with light and things are all but exploding, and the things that aren't being blasted are being thrown about with blue magic. I tried talking to him but he was just silent the whole time, that's when I called you."

"Did you see his eye?" Another, more excited voice perked up. "I know eye glowing used to be- I mean, is a trait in skeleton monsters, but nothing in the books was anything like that! Also, Sans has never seemed to do a glow before by what I remember… It looked like it was coming right from his soul!" Right, last of their kind. The glow hadn't struck him as odd off the bat, probably because he remembers when skeletons were more common, but now she mentions it, eye glowing was normally both eyes, and… not like that.

"Well, they say the eyes are a window to the soul."  
"Ugh, you spend too much time with that kid, are you getting them from him or him from you?"  
"I kinda like his puns and jokes, too." A femal voice chimes in. "He gets the cutest little gleam to his eye lights when he's about to make one-"  
"Settle down, we're getting off track again." Gaster cuts in. At least the fear seems to be passing. "he has before, once that I know of. During the school incident that happened before I brought him here. It seems like it may be an indication of just him using a large amount of magic or it might be something… else." He rubs at the bridge of bone between his eyes. "We're all tired. There's not a lot we can do tomorrow so all take the night off, and I'll alert the day staff they have no need to attend and start getting things in place to fix the place up."

Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief and starts gathering themselves up to go home. Only the Dino lingers after everyone else. Gaster gives a weary hand gesture. "Something you need to add?"

"N-not so much. I just… are you going home tonight doc?"

"I think I have my work cut out for me over the next couple of days, and I need to be here for both my sons - separating them isn't going to help anything."

The Dino gives a cryptic chuckle. "Of course you do." He turns on his heel and leaves, leaving Gaster to ponder over that until he himself fell asleep with both boys on his lap on the couch.


	4. chapter 4 - fallout

The rebuild went quicker and smoother than expected, it only took a few months, and when it was complete it looked like a newer version of what was in there before. Gaster had taken the opportunity to get some new tech built in using some blueprints he'd been working on for a while, and all things considered he was actually pretty excited about the new working spaces. Sans, however, lacked the same enthusiasm. While the space was being remade, he passively did his lessons and obediently ran the tests in makeshift rooms. He ate only when Gaster forced him to, he spoke barely at all and spent most of his free time sleeping - and the more sleep he got, the more he seemed to want. He didn't touch his books apart from when requested, and passed the book off if asked to read out loud - the only show of defiance he made despite all the sleep, Tired dark circles deepened under his eye sockets every day. It worried Gaster more than he cared to admit. The beat down silence wore on his nerves almost constantly, he even wished Sans would snap or get angry if he couldn't manage a smile or his usual jokes. This passive silence was worse than any amount of bile the eldest son could spit when he was upset. Mind you, over those five years he hadn't really got upset in that way, only very occasionally, preferring to put on a smile and throw out a few jokes, then cry when he thought no one was watching.

Gaster had never seen him like this, and looking at his son sleeping after a day of silence gave him flashbacks to the broken child that they had almost literally stitched back together.

It's like he was watching Sans wither away.

Papyrus visited more frequently after the incident in an attempt to try and make Sans feel better, but he still only spoke enough to encourage the younger in whatever he was rambling excitedly about on that day to fill the space left by his elder brother's voice and personality. And that was on a good day. On a bad day he laid with his back to him and slept through the visit. Those were the most worrying days of all. Sans had never, ever shut his brother out like that. Today had been one of those days, and he was currently at home with the youngest skeleton curled in his lap sobbing his heart out. Not because his brother had hurt his feelings, either, as Gaster had worried was the case. No, when he had managed to get words out of Papyrus around the crying, it turned out he was petrified that Sans was angry with him or that he had hurt his brother's feelings and now Sans hated him.

Papyrus was far too precious for this world. Gaster could only hope it didn't end up hurting him too.

Sans' mood wasn't helped by the fact that everyone had a barely concealed nervous edge around him. Everyone apart from him, Papyrus, and the Dino assistant who'd been there that night. That, in itself, was a worrying development for many, many reasons. As for the assistant, he tried everything from sitting chatting with him to jokes. Sans refused to even look at him, even on days where he was up and silently engaging in whatever task he was set. After a fortnight of him trying, the dinosaur had gone to pat him consolingly with his tail, and Sans' hand had snaked out like a viper that had been waiting to strike. Whatever he had said had been low enough for only the Dino to hear, and the assistant had just shrugged it off when asked, but it was enough that he'd not tried again. Gaster didn't like the pity-laden look the assistant gave his son… or himself. The dino stopped trying to cheer his son up after that, but he still pulled the most amount of shifts in with him; which Gaster was glad about because honestly there were few and far between that were volunteering any more, and even fewer that wouldn't try to swap with someone when they were declined a shift change. And yes, Gaster was simmering somewhere around 'furious' at them for it. He knows he shouldn't blame them, but he does. He gets a little more frustrated every time he sees someone shoot him a scared glance and sees his son react to it by closing himself off even more. Sleeping more.

Gaster _hates_ feeling helpless like this.

Finally the living area is completed enough to decorate, and Gaster prays to every deity he's read of that it will help drag Sans out of this depression that he's falling into. Even if he knows that logically the deities are a load of bullshit, the humans put so much stock in their various relics of worship that there's a small illogical part of his mind that really hopes they might be right about this one thing.

The new area on the second floor was supposed to make Sans feel a bit more comfortable and at home, but it ended up looking a bit more like a space for Papyrus by the end of it. Gaster had brought in loads of options for Sans to personalize the space, to try and make it look like home, and the only person that could even get him to engage in even looking at them was Papyrus. Looking about the room, he has to chuckle a little bit as he remembers all too clearly how the selection processes went.

 _"SANS. HAVE YOU PICKED OUT YOUR ROOM YET?" shrug. "YOU NEED TO, YOU NEED THE COOLEST ROOM EVER." that had made Sans roll over, and look at him. Mostly because Papyrus had tugged on the back of his clothing until he had._

 _ **"but why, when i've got the coolest brother ever?"** his voice had cracked; he hadn't spoken in nearly a week, even to Papyrus. There was no inflection to it. **"you should just pick it, you'll do better'n me anyway."** He goes to roll back over, but Papyrus had stopped him._

 _"BROTHER, YOU'RE THE ONE STAYING HERE ALL THE TIME! I ALREADY KNOW I'M COOL, YOU ALWAYS TELL ME THAT … YOU WOULD LIKE WHATEVER I PICK ANYWAY, RIGHT?" A nod. "BUT... YOU STILL HAVE TO SAY WHETHER YOU LIKE IT." Gaster sees him narrow his eyes at Sans who is just staring at him blankly from where he's laid. "WITH YOUR WORDS."_

 _The pause was like someone has stopped time, and then Sans had just shrugged and sat up. Papyrus wasted no time grabbing the selections and placing himself in Sans' lap so his brother would have no choice but to pay attention. It was the first time since the incident he'd seen a smile touch his elder son's eyes. It wasn't big, but it was there. Papyrus tried his best to pick out the things that his brother liked, but Sans had only nodded to whatever Papyrus had got most excited about. The only real piece of décor that really noted this as a space for Sans was the stars on the ceiling in the bedroom, which Sans hadn't been able to say no to when Papyrus had suggested it, following the excited child's imagination willingly on this one. There hadn't been anything written down or pictured about it, but that hardly mattered._

It hardly mattered at all, looking back on it, especially when they'd walked into the rooms when they were finally finished. Sans and Papyrus walked in hand in hand, Papyrus dragging his brother into the lounge area enthusiastically.

"WOWIE! ISN'T THIS AMAZING!"

 **"sure is."** But Sans wasn't looking at the room, his eyes were on his brother, taking in his reactions. Observing every move the youngest skeleton made and how his face lit up. There was a flicker of emotion there, but it was long gone before Gaster could try to pin it down.

"COME AND SEE YOUR BEDROOM, SANS." He pulled him harder, and the older skeleton allowed himself to be pulled through the room into the bedroom area. While Papyrus' eyes were drawn to the room and he was talking excitedly and gesturing at things in the room, Sans' eyes were drawn to the ceiling above, and his eye sockets grew large. Gaster was sure that if it was able to, his jaw would have dropped as well. The ceiling was painted a swirl of dark blues, purples and blacks. Pinpricks of whites and yellows had been placed as according to an old star chart that he'd had in the house, and the colours painted as according to every picture and vidoe on the subject that he'd ever read or seen. Gaster had tried to get hold of some of the rocks that emulate the stars in waterfall to use, but that had turned out to be impossible. Instead, he'd used a tangle of white 'fairy lights' to accentuate the 'stars'. For the first time in years, awe sparkles in Sans' pupils, and for the first time in months, a small but genuine smile was touching his eyes.

Gaster leaves them to the room with his own smile, lingering close enough that he can still hear them if he's needed.

Sans lays back on the bed, staring at the whirl of colours above. **"told'ja you'd do a better job than me, pap."** he speaks softly, but the younger hears it and leaps onto the bed and plants himself on Sans' chest so he can't be ignored.

"YOU CAN'T BE SAD, YOU'LL MAKE THE STARS CRY." Papyrus points at the ceiling as he says it, and the statement completely baffles the older brother. He decides that it's best not to touch any of it.

 **"'m not sad."** He says simply, feeling the previous sense of awe and small stir of happiness fall away into the void of his soul again. He's not sad. He's not anything.

"THEN WHAT'S WRONG?"

 **"nothing."**

Papyrus groans in displeasure at him. "STOP YOUR LYING, SANS." Sans lifts his head and stares at the top of Papyrus' skull in surprise. He says nothing, and Papyrus fidgets himself round so he's looking in his brother's face. "DID I MAKE YOU SAD?"

 **"what? of course not! why would you think that? never think that."**

"B-BUT..." Sans can see the little skeleton's cogs turning behind his eyes. "YOU DON'T PLAY ANYMORE. YOU DON'T SPEAK MOST OF THE TIME. HALF THE TIME YOU DON'T EVEN WAKE UP."

 **"that's not your fault."**

"PROMISE?"

 **"promise."**

"THEN WHY?" the little voice asks sadly, trying his best to understand what's happening to his older brother.

 **"i don't know."** his hands ball up in the covers, then move over his eye sockets. **"i just... don't want to. why should i want to?"**

Gaster moves closer, listening intently.

 **"i feel... empty, okay? i don't know why. it gets worse when everybody looks at me. and you... it's not your fault before you think that again... but you make it worse too."** he hears Papyrus gasp, but when he tries to move off of him he grabs on so the littler skeleton can't. **"don't... please don't."**

Papyrus stops trying to move. "BUT IF I GET OFF YOU, WILL THAT MAKE IT BETTER?"

Sans laughs quietly. **"you're so special pap, don't change. it's not like that, bro. it's just... everytime you're here, i just see you... scared and crying... i hear you begging me not to hurt dad... i don't... want... you to ever... look like that again."**

"BUT I WON'T." Papyrus says firmly. "YOU WERE FEELING SAD AND ANGRY, I THINK. AND IT GOT SO BIG AND SO SAD AND SO ANGRY THAT IT HAD TO COME OUT SOMEHOW, WHICH MADE YOUR MAGIC COME OUT. SO, WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T FEEL THE BIG SAD AND ANGRY AGAIN, RIGHT? AND THAT'S MY JOB, AND THAT'S DADDY'S JOB."

Sans goes to turn his head away, but little hands catch it and force him to look at him.

"OKAY?"

 **"...okay."** he wraps his arms back around his brother after nodding. The little skeleton lays his his head on his brother's clavicle. Gaster pops his head round the door, and smiles softly at the sight of them.

"AND YOU'LL FEEL BETTER IN NO TIME, WITH YOUR AMAZING AND GREAT LITTLE BROTHER LOOKING AFTER YOU."

 **"hehe, i think you're right pap. i think you're right."**

They both fall asleep entwined together, and Gaster doesn't have the heart to move either of them so he resigns himself to staying the night. He also gives a pointed look to the new camera in the room.

whatever the fallout, his boys were strong. he was certain they could all weather through it.

Together.


	5. Chapter 5 - Round 1

AN: Okie dokes, guys, a couple of things. I changed the title because the title was fitting for it when it was just snapshots, but it didn't feel right for what this thing has become. The title is taken from /6Iyv17I6YHw these lyrics. I have written a whole lot of this fic to that song on repeat haha. next: I updated the synopsis because somehow this ended up becoming way, way more than I thought. Also: cleaned up formatting on eqrlier chapters so it's at least somewhat consistent. finally: Ready salted crisps and ketchup sandwich is amazing. I was a weird child.

that said... let's do this shit!

* * *

Gaster pinches at the space between his eye sockets, trying to massage out his frustration.  
"Can you please _focus_?"  
 **"i'm trying!"** Comes the snappy reply. Then, a heavy sigh. **"sorry. go again."**  
"I think we need to call it a night."  
 **"i'm fine. just go again."**  
"You're sweating; we need to stop before you crash."  
 **"go. again."**  
"Stop being stubborn."  
Sans shoves his hands in his hoodie's pockets, making a show of standing firm. Gaster feels irritation bubble up within him as he does. **"i can do this."**  
"You keep saying that but so far this has been completely pointless. No progress at all. Once more isn't going to change that, especially when you are this close to a crash." He sees a flicker of hurt go through his son's pupils, but then they steel.

 **"either _attack_ or _flee_ , doc. i'm not leaving this room until I'm ready."**

Gaster knows he's just made a mistake. But he's not quite sure how. "Sans… we'll go again tomorrow. You need to eat and you need to sleep." He's met by a wall of stubborn silence. "Fine. I'll get food sent up. Once you pull your skull out of your ass, try to get some rest."  
 **"i'm a skeleton, i don't have an ass."** Sans smirks at him, and Gaster turns and leaves before he puts his foot any further into his mouth because Sans is doing nothing to help his frustration levels come down.

Sans knows his dad has a point as much as he wouldn't say it so until food arrives, he sits down cross legged and closes his eyes to have a light nap to recharge a little. Food arrives a little under an hour, and it's enough to at least break the sweat on his skull. The food helps recharge his magical energy levels immensely, too. _c'mon sans, you can do this._ it can't be pointless, it has to be more than a waste of time.

He pushes himself to his feet, taking up a firm stance again and preparing himself for a long night.

Gaster doesn't find sleep coming easily, and on the third time of waking, he gives up and calls the lab.~  
"Yo, Doctor Gaster, what's up?" The line is echoing, which means he's on hands-free. Which means 'Dino Dan' as Sans refers to him - out of earshot - is on duty.  
"Has he left the practise room yet?"  
"Nope, still in there. I'm sending regular meals up for him, which seems to be keeping him on his feet for now. I thought he was going to crash a few of times, but he's pushing himself through. Hard."  
"It's going to make it worse when he does."  
"Yep. I'll just keep doing what I can from here, I'm not getting involved in this one."  
"What do you mean?"  
"That's for you to figure out. I'm just here to watch the kid." The assistant hangs up on him, disapproval in every word. Ever since the incident, he had been colder towards Gaster. He followed instructions, his work didn't suffer, but as far as Sans was concerned he was very curt with Gaster and didn't even bother to hide it any more He didn't fault him at all, he just wishes the Dino would come out and say whatever was on his mind.

Gaster rubs his hands over his trousers, looking at the holes in them, feeling guilt gnaw at him. He hadn't picked Papyrus up where he'd been so late back, and not having him there means that Gaster has no reason not to go back. He sighs and starts getting dressed again.

"Hey, kid." The Dino lets himself in the room, sick of watching him on the camera while he's digging himself into a metaphorical hole.  
 **"hey."** He greets him simply, not pulling his focus away from where he was trying to summon a pattern.  
"You obviously aren't giving this up tonight, are you?"  
 **"i can do it."**  
"Came to find out if you wanted to take a break have something more to eat. You're pushing yourself too hard."  
 **"if i stop, the crash'll set in quicker. bring some more in for me?"** The 'please' is in his tone.  
"...Okay." he shakes his head after leaving the room. So the kid knows what he's doing to himself right now. He wastes no time in grabbing a shit load of snacks as well as heating a meal and taking it all back in a bag he slides around his neck (meal balanced carefully on his tail, too hot to go in the bag). As soon as he gets in the room, blue magic lifts everything free from him, and the warm meal goes straight into Sans's hand. He waivers dangerously, threatening to pass out right where he is with the meal in his hand. **"thanks."**

The Dino nods, and goes to leave. But then he pauses, and looks back at the kid.

Gaster is probably going to hand him his ass and his papers for this, but he's seen Sans' reflexes. What the kid needs right now is to stop, and he's not going to stop unless he proves that he can manifest an attack, whether it be to himself or Gaster.

"Throw a bag of chisps." The assistant catches them in his tail and carefully opens the seal down the back of the packet with his feet. He eats them slowly enough that he can see when Sans isn't quite so slumped in posture. The food helps less and less every time. He needs to do something soon. He waits for Sans to finish off the third bag of chisps, and he takes his moment to engage, having already stood himself up. He throws a spike of magic at the skeleton's back, ready to redirect if he needs to.

He doesn't, Sans easily flipping over it at the last moment, and turning on him as he grabs his soul with blue magic.  
 **"what the hell is your problem?"**  
"You rely too much on blue magic. Drop me, then instead of grabbing and pulling towards your soul, you need to push the magic out from your soul. And you need to get this fast, another round of food isn't going to stave off the crash, I can see it. No holding back, the old man is too gentle with you and it's not helping." Realisation hits Sans' eyes, and he instead stares through the dinosaur who shudders under the weight of the stare, feeling the creeping chill that comes with the weight of one of his *CHECKS. He simply shifts his feet, and lashes his tail out, his magic slicing at the patch of now-empty air. He hadn't even seen him move his feet, but he could feel Sans behind him after a few very soft footsteps. "Push it out, kid. Just let it go." He pulls from his magic reserves, but instead of using it like a leash, he digs deep and pushes it out from himself sharply. It responds as a plasmic whir fills the air, and a laser fills the room.

 **"oh god. i'm so-"**

He feels another razor sharp slash cut the air in front of him and just about manages to push himself back and out of the way. A very, very near miss. The Dino laughs despite having just taken a face full of blaster.  
"That was AWESOME! Don't apologise, this is what you've been working for!" The Dino has a minor epiphany somewhere at the back of his mind, despite the fact he's very excited right now, and despite having a face full of laser. But San's soul responds to the praise, getting a new and temporary wind of energy. And as his soul responds, so does his magic, bones explode from the floor and the Dino has to react fast, leaping to flat tops among the field of possible damage. He catches his foot slightly as he leaps, but the damage seems to be negligible. "Magic is supposed to feel good. Let it guide you in battle. Don't think about it and don't worry about holding back." He lands with a grin, unleashing another attack through his tail. Again, he barely sees Sans move his feet and the kid is beside him with a grin that touches his eyes. He sees the left hand extend and feels himself rocket to the side, and he fails to find his feet as he's smacked into a wall of bone that pops out to meet him.  
"Yes! Let go of the fear and work with it, not against it." He drops to the floor as Sans lets go and spears his tail towards him without a beat missed. "A monster's soul and body is made of magic. That magic is a culmination of your being. The more you are scared of your magic, the more it won't respond to you because you are closing yourself off from it. Let it help you."  
The voice comes beside his ear, light and almost giddy despite the sweat coming from him. He sees the flash in the left eye, cyan and yellow, but it doesn't terrify him like it had years ago. **"like trusting your instincts, right?"** the left hand flares and throws him up into the ceiling, before crashing him back down, lifting him and following his hand to the left as he throws him across the room again, bones from top and bottom surrounding him. The Dino's not sure how to deal with this one at all, he's never seen anything like it. He's in awe. **"don't think about it, just let it happen."**  
The assistant hits the wall, but manages to fight the pull of gravity enough that the bones skim the bottom of his feet.  
"Yes, that's it!" He cries ecstatically, before standing again. He can see the crash coming, and lifts his tail to initiate the spare. Sans holds out his hands, accepting it. He's breathing heavy and swaying slightly where he's stood. The Dino closes the gap, and lifts his tail under the young skeleton's chin.

"Don't fear yourself, or your magic. Not ever. Now go get some sleep, kid, that was amazing."

Sans is still grinning by the time he collapses in the hall, not able to make it back to his room before the crash. The Dino is about to call Gaster to get some help moving him, when the man himself appears at the end of the corridor.

"What are you doing here? Not that I can fault your timing; the crash finally got him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's out for a couple of days."  
Hands gently lift Sans, and a snore is his only response to being moved. He uses his own hands to sign as they are otherwise unoccupied. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought my time would be better spent here. Seems I was a little too late."  
" _Yep_." The assistant pops the p to emphasise the word as much as possible. Gaster frowns at him.  
"You have had something to say for a long time. Will you just say it?"  
"I've already said it. I said it on the day of the incident, and I've said it a thousand times since." The Dino looks at him and he sees the area under his neck expand ever so slightly, the monster's visible shrug. "As I said earlier, it's something you've gotta figure out for yourself. If you're here the rest of the night, I've got to go eat and get some rest. He didn't fight long but my god I'm feeling it."

"Do you need a- wait." Gaster *CHECKs him and his brow furrows.

 ***Monster Guy**  
 ***8 ATK 17 DEF HP 48/58**  
 ***Thinks you can do better. Thinks he can do better too, despite trying his best.**  
 ***The names are a family tradition. don't say a thing, asshole.**

His brow furrows as he sees the HP. Even as he's reading the stats

47/58

the number changes.  
"Are you unwell?" Guy looks at him entirely puzzled.

46/58

"Nope. Why, what are you seeing?"  
"Check your HP."

45/58

"I don't- woah. Hey. Do you see that? Not the bar, obviously, but how it just dropped?"  
"I see it."  
"Have you seen it before?"

44/58

"No. This appears to be some kind of poisoning."  
"KR? It's pink, like the chunk on my HP bar."

43/58

"We should heal you up, then we can discuss-"  
"It should stop about half way down. See to your son, asshole." A look of surprise hits Gaster's face as the excitement had faded into frustrated coldness.

42/58

"Sorry, I didn't mean to call you that. I'm feeling… not the best right now, but I shouldn't take it out on you."  
"No, you are correct." Gaster sighs, and beginning to walk. "Come. And keep an eye on your HP as you walk. If we need to stop and heal you, we can."

41/58

"It'll be fine. The pink on my hp bar stops a little above half. I'm not gonna dust… I think."  
"You hope."  
Monster Guy says nothing.

40/58

"What?"  
"Nothing."  
Gaster sighs.

39/58

They enter the elevator, and travel to the second floor in silence, although Gaster does notice that the assistant's posture is slowly hunching.

34/58

"Just let me heal you."  
"Why? Don't you wanna see what happens? Scientific curiosity and all that." He has an accusing edge to his voice as he gestures with his tail.  
"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" The tone in his voice accentuates what he cannot through signing.

33/58

"Just go put your fucking kid to bed." He pushes Gaster out of the elevator with his tail, then the held form of Sans, and jabs at the floor button.

His HP does indeed stop dropping when it hits halfway, but he finds himself poking about at his food with his tail instead of actually eating it. He felt awful, but not physically. It was like someone had dredged up every piece of shit he had ever done and tied to to his back and used meat hooks to stop them from falling off. He sighs, letting himself flop forward onto the table. _Now your dumb ass just took it out on your boss. If you get fired again, your brother's gonna kick you out. The only reason he let you stay there in the first place is because you all but bought him up while mother worked._ He groans with frustration. This job had literally saved him from being homeless, the rent he pays his brother being the only thing keeping him in his dinky apartment. He couldn't afford to lose it.

The accident. The dust still coated his tail in his sleep. _Was it an accident? You were pretty pissed off and scared, and magic's all about intent. Wait what the hell am I thinking? yes. I never meant to kill him. Just… get him to stop hurting mom.  
_ _Well. He stopped.  
_ He lifts his head and lets it flop back onto the table painfully, hoping that the impact might shake the thoughts away.  
Suddenly, a warmth spreads through him and his musings lift themselves up and away as it feels like the hooks are being removed from his back. He lifts his head and turns it back, and there's his boss channeling green magic into him, healing his wounds.

"Doc?"

Once he's finished healing the monster, he sits himself opposite him. His hands form the words smoothly, not allowing his feelings to come through. He doesn't trust his voice not to do the same, so he doesn't use it.

«You need to speak to me about whatever issue you have. You're a good member of the team but most importantly you are the one member of it who I feel has the best interests of my son at heart. Interests it almost sounds like you think I have» he pauses, looking for the right word «missed.»

"I think I've already said too much tonight." He drags his tail down his face.  
«I don't think so. this is not a place where you should feel like you cannot speak feely. Especially where my son is concerned.»  
That makes him raise an eyebrow and chuckle quietly. "like you are right now?"  
"...Fine." his voice sounds tired, and the Dino can finally get some emotion behind the signs. "...where am I going wrong with him?"

The Dino is surprised at the bluntness to the question. "Said every parent ever." And they share a small laugh, and finally he starts eating. "I don't actually think you are doing anything wrong, as such, I just think… it seems like sometimes you forget that he's a child. I don't blame you for that, from the moment they appeared he's seemed more of an old soul. I don't know if that's a side effect, but some kids are anyway, you know? Maybe it made it worse, maybe he would have been anyway. But either way, you shouldn't be treating him that way only when something reminds you."

Gaster remains silent, thinking on the words. The dino takes it as a sign that he's not about to be torn apart for what he's saying and gathers together enough confidence to continue.

"I mean, _geeze_ , doc. He chose you back then, and you're still his world. You and Papyrus. I've just watched him push through four consecutive crashes because he wanted to prove to you he could do what you were asking of him. And he's real good… if that's what he did on a first round, I really wanna see what he has in store for us later on." A small grin creeps across his face. "I tell you what, if he manages to keep that fighting spirit through all this, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. We just gotta hope the world don't break him first; he's more sensitive than he likes to let on."  
Gaster laughs quietly at that. " _That_ is something I don't need to be told."  
"Maybe you should remember that when you speak to him then." The grin has dropped. "Kid's like him won't give you honesty unless you respect them enough to give them first, and you two… You two are very much alike, in the best and worst ways."  
"What are you getting at?"  
"Hmm…" How to make him see? The doc was a genius when it came to everything but feelings. "The research you're doing on the CORE is pointless, at the end of the day we're still going to be stuck in a hole. You may as well give it up."  
"That's not related to this conversation! And it's not pointless, countless lives are going to be improved if we can figure out how to get them… unlimited… I see what l did." He runs a hand over his face as the defensiveness runs out of him like water down a drainpipe.  
"Tell him that, not me. The more you two don't talk to each other, the more you're going to drift apart. And while you're at it, it wouldn't kill you to tell him you're proud of him."  
"I thought that was obvious."  
"Maybe, but it still wouldn't kill you." Gaster hums in quiet contemplation. "Well, if that's everything, I'm going to head back to my shift."  
"Yes, that's all." The Dino stands, and makes his way out. "Thank you."

Monster Guy turns back for a moment with a grin and a tease. "I'll send the bill for the therapist fees between you and Sans."

Gaster does his best to go about business as usual for the next few days, but he finds himself lapsing into thoughtfulness at every quiet moment. The discussion had given him a lot to think about. Monster Guy wasn't wrong, either, Sans didn't stir for days. 6 of them, in fact, and it got to the point where Gaster had worried that the kid had pushed himself too far. It was gnawing at him near constantly by the time he finally woke up.

Hands rubbed at sleep-hazed eye sockets and he slowly pushed himself up into an upright position, but before he could stretch out the stiffness from his joints, he feels himself pulled into a tight grip.  
 **"wha-"** his brain catches up. Gaster has wrapped him in a hug tight enough to have cut off his airways if he had them. **"if you're trying to turn me into paste, you're _crushing_ it."**  
Laughter erupts from his dad, but the arms slacken off. "Of course the first thing you do is make a bad joke. Must mean you're feeling better."  
 **"yep. i feel _sans_ ational."** Gaster lets him go, rolling his eyes. Sans takes a moment to stretch like a cat, feeling all the kinks in his skeleton settle back in their correct places.  
"Good. That means I can do this." He gives his son a sharp clip around the back of the skull. Sans rubs the back of his head, brow furrowed unhappily now.  
 **"...did you take your meds this morning?"** He asks, sarcasm not masking the confusion.  
" _Ha ha,_ you're adorable." Gaster snarks back, but lets it go. "It's been nearly a week, I am allowed to worry."

Surprise creeps into the pupils. Surprise and shame. **"a… a week?"**

"You must not push yourself that far. Do you understand?" Sans pupils flick away from him. "Sans. Do you understand?"  
 **"...yes."** He says reluctantly, picking at the blanket. Then he looks up with a gleam in his pupils. **"but I-"**  
"Kicked some serious dino butt?" Gaster offers him a grin, and that brings one to Sans' face too. "I heard."  
 **"you did?"**  
Yep. He seemed awfully pleased about it, actually." He sees his son light up. Huh.  
 **"do you… wanna see?"** Sans asks, almost sounding shy but excited at the same time.  
"Of course." Sans hops out of the bed, and starts towards the door "Wait!"  
He stops still like someone froze him in time, then turns his head back to Gaster.  
"Shower. And clothes. And you haven't eaten yet."  
 **"oh! oops."** He grins. **"meet you down there?"**

It's the fastest he's ever got ready in his life. He showers just enough to make sure he's clean and grabs just a Tee and some shorts and the first two socks that come to hand. He's going to leave eating, but the moment he thinks about it is the moment that six days of not actually being awake to eat catches up. Thank everything for absorption otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to eat at all meaning he probably wouldn't be on his feet right now. He makes himself a quick salted chisp and ketchup sandwich and wraps the bottom in kitchen towel so he won't trail it's sweet and salty goodness down the hall as he hurriedly eats it on his way.

 ** _i can do this._**

He's found himself lingering at the entryway to the test lab, taking a breath to steady himself. Nerves are kicking in enough that he's come to a stop. Nerves, and-

 _STOP HURTING DADDY_

A shudder goes through his frame.

That, like always, completely overrides everything. What if MG -Sans realises just how long it had been since using the nickname, even in his head- had been… wrong?

He wars with himself for a few moments, before he lets instinct take over.


	6. Chapter 6 - He's got this

_You've had the hurt, now here's the comfort! You're welcome :D  
Edited: Because uploading from mobile broke my formatting. BAH! Hope y'all had a good christmas!  
_

* * *

Gaster gives it half an hour before he decides to go find Sans. He tells himself that Sans is probably just taking his time after six days of not being up and about, but he knows him better than that. With how excited he was, he would have done everything in the shortest possible time and ran down here as fast as he could with how excited he'd seemed. He leaves the test room, and backtracks towards the bedroom. On finding it empty, however, a small panic stirs in his chest. Where could he be? He wouldn't have got lost, he knows this place like the back of his hand.

A text interrupts his thoughts before they can snowball. He nearly ignores it, but he's glad that he doesn't in the end.

The quiet mechanical hum in the room fills his skull, but today it's not doing anything to quieten his thoughts. Even with his back pressed against the generator and folded into the tiny corner as he was, his safe spot wasn't offering any reprieve for him today. He hears the door open quietly, and footsteps enter the room. Assuming it's just someone checking up on the Genny, he pulls his feet up and tucks himself completely out of view. Whoever it is gives a puzzled sigh, before the sound of bone on plastic. Oh joy, it's dad. The person he wants to see least while he's feeling like this. He waits with his breath held so as to keep himself completely still. The text tone chirps into the room.  
"Sans, where are you?" He counts to sixty in his head, but Gaster doesn't move. He slowly lets his feet drop back down to the floor from the wall, and pokes his head around the piece of machinery.  
 **"'m here."  
** Gaster takes a seat so he's got his back against the generator too, facing the room inwards. "You'll have to remember this place next time you and your brother play hide and seek."  
 **"nah, the idea of hide and seek is hiding somewhere you can be found."  
** "Hmm… pretty sure the opposite is true."  
 **"ha, not when you're playing with pap. i hid too good once and it took me an hour to calm him down when he thought that he'd lost me forever."  
** Gaster can imagine exactly that, and has to laugh at the thought of it. "How long had you let him look?"  
 **"six hours. we'd had an argument the day before and the idea seemed hilarious at the time. until the tears started, that is."  
** Gaster laughs harder. "Where did you hide that he couldn't find you for six hours?"  
 **"here and there."** He hears the light smirk in his voice.  
"You cheated?"  
 **"nothin' in the rules against moving hiding spots. you've just gotta stay not found."  
** "I'm pretty sure that it's one of the biggest unspoken rules of hide and go seek that you stay in one place."

 **"nah, it's like a video game. the rules that limit the game can be changed, if you know how to without breaking it." Gaster chuckles as he shakes his head. "'sides, i'm pretty sure texting the guys watching the cameras is actually cheating."  
** Gaster replies without missing a beat "Well, I didn't know we were playing. You can change spots if you like."  
 **"...nah, you'd never find me again. it's only pap that i let win." He grins, feeling a little better.  
** "Maybe some other time then."

They sit in silence for a minute or two, before Gaster decides to ask.

"You seemed pretty excited to show me what you've learned, so how come you decided to come here instead?"  
 **"i like it here."  
** "That didn't really answer the question."  
 **"i know."** Sans sighs quietly; so quietly that Gaster almost missed under the whir of the machinery that powers the lab until the CORE is beyond theories and research.  
"If you're not feeling up to it, there's always another day."  
 **"i … i'm not still tired."** Gaster waits patiently, but the thought isn't expanded upon. He gives his own sigh.  
"When did we stop talking, Sans?" He asks, feeling a mixture of sadness and perplexed. He gets a confused noise in his direction. "It wasn't that long ago that you would tell me anything, given enough time and space for you to know what you wanted to say. Now it feels like you know exactly what you want to say, all the time, but there's never enough time and space for you to feel comfortable enough to do so."  
 **"so? what do you want me to say?"  
** "I want you to _talk_ to me. To let me help you instead of secluding yourself until you think the problem's gone away."  
 **"it's nothing."  
** "And yet here we are."  
 **"...okay then, it's nothing you can help with."** He rephrases after a moment.  
"You can't know that without letting me to at least try and help-"  
 **"maybe I don't want your help. did you think about that?"** The words are quiet, but they hit Gaster like a truck. He runs a hand over his face, pushing away the snap of frustration threatening to bubble to the surface. And doing that instead of engaging the harsh words like he might normally, makes him realise that this is exactly the kind of situation that Monster Guy had been talking to him about.  
"That's quite enough. I know you don't mean that and you know you don't mean that. It's incredibly frustrating that you'd rather build walls and shut me out with this stoic bullshit instead of letting me try and help. I'm not leaving until you tell me what's troubling you."

He gets no response, except the quiet rustling of fabric as Sans pulls his feet under him so they nearly touch his hip joints, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his chin on his knees. He doesn't know how to respond to that. There's a shifting sound, but he doesn't turn to see what it is.

"...You're going to get me yelled at again." Gaster tells him, a smile quirking the corners of his mouth, and Sans chuckles quietly.  
 **"pap?"  
** "No, Guy has been riding my tail."  
 **"dan dan the dino man?"** And despite himself, that makes Gaster laugh heartily.  
"You really should be nicer to him. He cares a lot."  
He watches as guilt creeps into the eye lights. **"i… i know."  
** "You two used to be friends."  
Nothing.  
"Does that mean I'm wrong?"  
Still no response.

Gaster reaches out, lifting and turning Sans' head to look at him. Somehow he looks young and scared and tired and old all the same time. He wonders how long his son's had that look, and how he's missed it before now. "It feels like I don't know who my own son is anymore, and that… it scares me. You're growing up right before my eyes but I seem to be missing everything important that's happening."  
That makes the pupils focus on him, and he stares as if trying to find any hint of a lie. There's none to find. Slowly, Sans turns his body so he's facing his father and Gaster lets go of his face.  
 **"...i scare me too. i think."**

That takes a minute to compute, but it seems MG had been right about the honesty for honesty thing.

"That wasn't what I said."  
 **"it's what you meant, though."  
** "No." Gaster's voice is firm.  
 **"but… why? everybody-"  
** "-Is wrong. And it's not everybody. Me, Papyrus, and Monster Guy - to name a few - aren't scared _of_ you. _For_ you, maybe, but that's part of caring about someone. And it's a big difference."  
He doesn't get an answer, save for looking deep in thought.  
"Why are you scared?" he coaxes after a few minutes.  
 **"...don't wanna talk about it."** the pupils look away again, staring hard at the wall.  
"That's fine." Gaster decides to back off of it for a minute, and try to go around the emotional wall that just slammed up on him. "Then I believe I should take this opportunity to say something else."  
The pupils draw back to him.  
"I'm sorry."  
 **"for what?"  
** "Many things. But... if you want specifics, how about we start with the last session in the test room."  
 **"there's nothing to apologize for."** Gaster catches the hand that tries to wave it away.  
"No, there is. I obviously hurt your feelings, as much as you try your best to conceal them." he lowers Sans' hand into his lap and holds onto it gently. He feels fingers loop through the hole there as Sans places his other hand on top. It's been a long time since Sans had done so, a gesture Gaster didn't realise he's missed from the little one - even now he's not so little. "I was frustrated that you were pushing yourself too hard and putting yourself at risk, but I never should have called your work pointless. I mean, you can dodge like no monster I've ever seen. And whatever you managed to do with Guy had him singing your praises."  
He sees the slump leave his posture a little bit, and his pupils brighten a little bit. **"really?"**

...Did his son really not know? "Yes. I'm so, so proud of you. I'm starting to think I don't say it enough."

A flush rises to his son's cheekbones, the fingers tighten around his hand but not enough to be painful. **"but… i… i..."  
** "Hmm, it seems I definitely don't say it enough." Gaster says out loud, regret layering the words.  
 **"...but I'm not the one that deserves it."**

How many more times can Sans surprise him. And break his heart - metaphorically speaking. Suddenly he realises just how much of a pedestal Sans has put his brother on, how much he actually adores Papyrus as the 'I'm' in the sentence clicks with him. He knew that he was Sans' first and only concern, but he'd always thought that he showered 'the great Papyrus' with the praise he did mostly out of some sort of unending patience with playing along. Or to make up for the times that Gaster forgets to say it. Or both.

 _How had he missed this?_

"You both deserve it, and so much more. What on earth would make you think you don't deserve just as much as him?"  
 **"he's just so…"** he gets that fond look in his pupils, the gleam that's reserved for his brother. **"...so great! he's so cool and awesome, his puzzles are… well, he never stops trying his hardest which is what matters and they're getting better all the time, he never seems to stop enjoying life and nothing can knock him down for long. and he always sees the good in people. always. he's going to grow up to be the best, nicest monster in the underground and everyone's gonna love him as much as I do, i just know it. and i just… just… wish I could… be more like him."  
** Gaster puts his free hand on top of Sans' and gives it a small squeeze, ensuring that he has the young skeleton's attention. "Sans. Just because you and your brother are different doesn't make you any less deserving of anything. He has his strengths and you have yours." Sans tries to remove his hands, but Gaster holds them where they are, gentle but unmoving.

And finally, Gaster's found his way around that damn emotional wall that his son threw up. It saddens him that it takes longer every time to both see it and work around it, and he worries that if the trend continues what that means for him as an adult.

 **"like what? being able to see how bad people are, how much hurt they've caused? dodging or running away because one hit's gonna kill me?"** He manages to remove his hands from Gaster's grip, and he grips his own wrist so tight Gaster's half worried he might shatter it accidentally. His pupils have completely disappeared. **"destruction? none of these are good things. there's nothing to be proud of."  
** Gaster stares, utterly dumbfounded. "...Do you honestly not see the good in yourself? Do you want me to tell you what I see, as it seems you cannot?"  
His son doesn't give any sign of even having heard him, seeming to have fallen into himself and his dark thoughts. He's reminded of when he listened to Sans and Papyrus under a ceiling of fake stars.

"You're going to make the stars cry."

That snaps Sans' attention to him. **"you were listening."  
** "Is that why you're scared?" The shudder through his bones is all the answer Gaster needs. He wraps Sans in magic, and pulls him into him for physical comfort. He rests his skull on top of Sans' as he holds him close. "I'm sorry I didn't see how much you were hurting from it still. But it doesn't define who you are. We all have our moments when things are overwhelming, or we get angry or scared and do things we don't mean to. You have so much potential, and in that you have so much potential for good. You're loyal to your own detriment, once you deem someone worthy of that loyalty. The same can be said for the depths of your kindness. The stats you see don't just show you people's bad but their potential for good. You have more patience than I have ever seen in a child of your age, and your capacity to learn may even outstrip my own if and when you put your mind to it. I don't think I have ever seen you make a promise you don't think you can keep, and if and when you do make one you do everything you can to keep it and bear the consequences. You're older than your years, too old maybe, but it's given you unbelievable wisdom already. And as for dodging and running, there's no shame in that - knowing when to retreat is as important as knowing when to fight. You also move with a speed and fluidity in battle that not many can achieve. That's a whole lot of things to be proud of, my son."

He feels Sans breath a quiet sigh against his chest, but he doesn't look down to try and read into it.

"And when you find yourself thinking about it, you need to remember: you did all that, but nobody got even that. You never hurt me -even as you threw me about- or Papyrus. That's what you should think about."  
 **"Da- mg said that i shouldn't fear myself or my magic, but the minute that i went to the room it was all i could think about. I thought because I fought him, i would be okay with you as well but… but..."  
** "You have to forgive yourself, Sans. You're the only one that hasn't."

Both Gaster and Sans are out of words, neither being great with how they feel and talking about such things, so neither bothers any more and instead both quietly just hold on to each other. How long had it been since they had even done this? As a child he'd never been as tactile as Papyrus, but when he'd sought out physical affection or reassurance it had meant just as much. At some point along the line he'd stopped seeking it so much, usually obliging his brother's need for hugs and affection but only taking it for himself very rarely and even rarer from his father. It was an absence that Gaster hadn't realised he had missed quite so much as it turns out he did.

He'd just been making mistakes right across the board, huh.

They stay like that for an indeterminate amount of time, in silence save for the gentle hum of the machinery. It doesn't grate on Gaster's nerves like he thought it might and he starts to understand why his son chose to come here. The constant source of gentle noise fills the silence easily in a way that fills his skull unobtrusively - a little like if you turn a radio on between stations (or, just about anywhere in the underground) and listen to the white noise on a low volume. At one point he begins to idly wonder if Sans has fallen asleep but he didn't dare move, taking as much comfort from this as the young skeleton was. He was wrong, with Sans eventually untangling himself and standing up.  
 **"you comin'?"** He offers a hand to his father, who takes it. His joints complain at being sat on the hard floor for so long, but he ignores them as they pop. Sans leads the way quietly, to back outside the test room. Gaster reaches out for his hand, gently catching it for a moment. He receives a questioning look.  
"Are you sure you're ready?" A firm nod. Gaster searches him for any sign of fear or worry hiding in the pupils and the cheekbones that ever so slightly change the curves of his smile when you know what to look for, but finds nothing. He releases the hand, and they step inside and take their places on the opposite sides of the room.

Sans stretches himself a little, no longer feeling the cold dread that usually flooded him when he stood opposite his father in the room.

 ** _i've got this.  
_** ** _don't be afraid.  
_** ** _listen to instinct, listen to yourself._**

It's all a part of him and maybe… maybe that was something he can accept after all. Learning to like it would be a slower process, he's sure, but acceptance for better and worse, was manageable.

Besides, even if he doesn't know how to ask for it a lot of the time, turns out he's got help.

 ** _we've_ _got this._**

Gaster sees the pupils drop out and the flaring of cyan and yellow is the only sign he gets that the encounter is starting. The opening barrage is much more brutal than he thought, having to pull more reflexes out of the bag than he'd been expecting. He's slammed to the floor with a flick of the hand, and he has to push against the slam of gravity quickly as bone rises from the floor to meet him, he's let go mid-jump and the sudden shift in gravity difference means his landing is fumbled, throwing off his footing as he has no time to waste as bone comes at him in waves. It's got a wide path but the fumbled footing means he narrowly avoided taking the attack rather than it passing by him easily, and as he finishes weaving through the bones, blasters are waiting for him at the end already powering up meaning that he has a split-second decision on where to go, and the width of the blasts correct him when he chooses wrong.

"Holy shit, Sans!" He grins, and Sans looks awfully pleased with himself. That and… he's looking like he just used a shitton more magical energy in one go than he used to, as much as the pride and excitement are hiding a lot of it. Did he just… open with the strongest attack combination he could think of? That's ingenuity right there, and Gaster adds that to the list of things he's just so fucking proud of his son for right now. "Not bad at all."

He decides to just *CHECK, seeing if the surface glance reveals any changes now that he's manifested an attack.

 ***Sans  
** ***HP 1/1 ATK 1 DEF 1  
** ***He's got this.**

The comment takes Gaster by surprise, but he's glad of the more positive shift in attitude to the last ones. But he looks at the gap in his HP bar compared to the insight he just gained. He's missing 12 but he got hit once…  
Oh. So maybe not poison after all, but-  
His HP ticks down a single number, but he sees no pink. A single bone clatters to the floor having just bounced off of his skull. Sans pulls his posture into a teasing mimicry of his father's, pupils back in place and dancing with humour. **"can you please _focus_ , dad?"** Gaster laughs, brief but hard.  
Cheeky little-  
He throws out a semi-simple pattern, one that he knows Sans could dodge in his sleep. And sure enough, he's beside him with little effort, brow bone raised over one eye. **"c'mon, dan tried harder than that and I hadn't just had a six day nap. dodging I can do."  
** Gaster would roll his eyes if he had them, and if he had time to. The telltale blue glow of bone is covering the floor and he's got but a moment to react, diving for a small patch not covered and mid leap he's slammed upwards towards another patch of blue on the ceiling. The sudden shift in gravity is enough to throw his landing off and he doesn't push away from the surface fast enough to avoid the magical piercing sensation. Sure enough, his HP bar only takes 1 physical damage, but a chunk of it turns pink and takes a second tick roughly half a second later. He pushes himself away from it and the pink stops racking up on his HP bar, and he's back on the floor. His thoughts are split between the results of his *CHECK and the sudden feeling of the world on his shoulders - not an unfamiliar sensation, but one that's usually reserved for sleepless nights not the middle of a fight. He does his best to detach himself mentally from the edging of his darker thoughts, and decides to step it up. He responds in kind to Sans' attack by wrapping him in blue and throwing him to the side, ready to pull back if necessary, but he sees Sans' adjust himself to work with the momentum that he finds himself travelling with and absorb the impact in a half-roll, using the attack's momentum to continue to where he finds his feet to push against the force of the gravity magic pushing against him before bone and blaster can make contact. Sans' barely finished the manoeuvre before Gaster finds himself in the middle of a cross of blaster maws, springing to the side of the formation and barely clearing the space where the lasers fill he pushes off the ground with the momentum he gains from his dodge and jumps into a sideways platform thrown his way as the entire floor turns to bone of varying size and moves towards him. He spots and leaps to second platform before the one he's on hits the wall, rolling off it and landing in the clear floor after it. He spares half a glance for his HP bar and sees that the pink chunk has taken a fifth of it by itself, despite not taking another hit. Hmm.

His kid's just stood across from him with a shit-eating grin edged with pride, hands in his shorts pockets as he hadn't picked up his hoodie like he hadn't just thrown out four rounds of 'what the fuck'. Gaster holds his hands up, pride in full force now the dark edges to his thoughts having faded somewhat. They're still making themselves known, but are right now being overridden.

"Okay, okay."  
 **"quitting before you have a heart attack, old man?"** He grins eye lights dancing.  
"Skeletons don't have hearts." He smirks back, then adds "...but I must admit that it's been a long time since these 'old' bones have had to move that fast."He remembers Monster Guy's advice which, so far, had turned out pretty well.

"You did good, kiddo. You did real good."


	7. Chapter 7 - Call him Lord of the wings

so... i make no apologies for this. The idea struck me as hilarious, and i knew exactly how and where to fit it in. enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it guys. =)

* * *

Sans eyed up the prototype warily. He didn't think scans could get any more unsettling, but somehow his father had managed it.  
 **"it looks kinda like a bird skull…"** so he does what he does best **"am I gonna get _chirpies_ from this thing?"  
**His dad does his best to suppress a laugh, but he sees the shake in his shoulders. How do you even know-"  
 **"i read a book once. I found the whole thing rather _hawkward_."  
**Another laugh suppressed, this time a hand coming up and a knuckle covering his mouth as it slips more than the last.  
 **"did you know they can _tweet_ it but they can't _caw_ it."  
**That's Gaster's breaking point. He bubbles with laughter from behind a facepalm. "Sans!"  
 **"it makes you _bill_ for life."  
**" _Sans_!"  
 **"it's a _plucking_ shame, really."  
**"Why are you like this?" but he's still grinning.~  
 **"dunno. _henetics_?"  
**"Please stop."  
 **"but these are _eggscelent_."** he winks at his father.  
"They are, considering you're _winging_ it."  
...Oh heck yeah. **"yep, totally on the _fly_. puns are my _calling_."  
**"I don't know, I took you more for a _wrengineer_."  
 **"that was clever. are the tables about to _tern_?"  
**"Probably not, you're the _starling_ of this show."  
 **"don't get _bittern_ about it, it sounds like I'm a _chirp_ off the ol' block."  
**Gaster loses his gained momentum to another round of laughter.  
"Okay, you win."  
 **"i'm so glad, things were getting _ruff_ for a minute."** he sees the mischief in Sans' face dial up to 11.  
"...Don't start with dog puns."  
 **"i'm not!"** Gaster raises a disbelieving eyebrow at his too-innocent tone. **"philomachus pugnax - which, by the way, is possibly one of the most hilarious names i think i have ever heard… i laughed for like 20 minutes - common name ruff. belongs to the same family as sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes."**

"You are going to give me whatever book you found so I can burn it. The last thing you need is a segue into more puns. How long have you been waiting to use these?"

 **"about three months."** As he continues, he slowly and casually makes his way to the door. **"i tried my _breast_ but i kept getting the _rump_ end of the deal. it would have been forced and robbed of it's _humerus_ nature. that's not how i keep my _mantle_ of king of the skelepuns. i searched _thigh_ and low for any moment, but even with my level of _articulation_... nothing occurred. i just waited and waited and look at _wattle_ i'm doing now. well, it's time for me to return to my _nest_. laters, dad."**

Gaster's head is spinning by the end of that with the speed of word-play coming at him, and by the time he realises he's just listed a string of bird parts, he's also realised that he's left the room.  
"Oh for- damn it, kid." He has to chuckle. "Well played."

Sans'd seen the blueprints, but seeing it in person was a whole other thing and no way was he sitting in that thing. There's a line, and he's drawn it. With some particularly good avian-based puns, if he did say so himself. He knows he's only bought time for himself, but it'll give him time to come up with something else. Or for his dad to finish the damned soul containers so he doesn't have to sit in any scanner again, which would be more ideal. Ha, yeah, there was no way he'd bought himself that much time. With nothing better to do, he returns to his room to study.  
"Knock knock."  
 **"who's there?"  
** "Deja."  
 **"deja who?"  
"**Knock knock."  
Sans bursts out laughing, putting down the book he was in the middle of.  
 **"ok, that was pretty good. i guess i've gotta let you in."** He swings the door open with blue magic, not bothering to get up from his bed. Gaster steps into the room, and takes a seat on the edge of the bed.  
"Studying?"  
" **yep**." He shows him the front of the book he's reading.  
"I don't really understand your affinity with Quantum physics, but I'm sure if anyone can find a use for it you can." Gaster gives him a smile, which Sans returns. Since the discussion in the generator room, they'd both been making more of an effort to say the things that needed to be said more often, and things had seemed to be working well. Gaster had noticed that Sans' prowess in every area had improved faster than it had in all the time spent in the lab previously, and Gaster had found that his son was more free to speak and willing to open up. It was an unspoken agreement between them, and they were both trying their best.  
 **"it feels… important. and i enjoy it."** He shrugs. **"there's a lot of potential in the quantum field, even if sometimes the humans are a bit…"  
** "Stupid?"  
 **"i was gonna say ambitious, actually."  
** "Oh?"  
 **"by what comes through, they've got solid theories and seem to be well on the way to proving some of them but half the things they talk about achieving aren't possible without the use of magic to facilitate and assist. And almost every book you read makes it abundantly clear they've pushed magic into the realm of fiction-"** he lets a book zoom into a hand, and he waves it to accentuate his point. Fellowship of the Ring. One of his favourites and also one of his biggest point provers. **"-along with monsters or anything that resembles them. i don't know whether they've forgotten about us and their own magic, or whether it was done as a form of propaganda to let the younger humans forget we existed in the first place to forget."** He tossed the book over his shoulder, letting it thump to the floor.  
"I never thought I would say this, but maybe you need to read less." His father's face has concern written over it.  
 **"heh, never mind."  
** He raises a brow bone. "Sans."  
 **"no, i'm not doing the thing, it just literally doesn't matter. we're stuck in this hole, so we gotta make the most of it. the core is only a year, maybe two, off completion at most, phase 1 of the soul experiments is complete save for a test run. things are good for now."  
** "It doesn't sound like you think they will be for long."  
 **"to expect anything to last forever is asking for trouble."  
** "Now who's the old man?" Gaster teases him, trying to bring him out of the mood a little bit. Sans' depression hadn't had a bad episode for a while and when he starts edging into the mindset where nothing matters, it worries Gaster that one is close. It doesn't seem to be, seeing as he receives a laugh at the playful comment, but he was always going to fear it - especially now he has the added guilt of missing such a big problem and leaving him to deal with it alone for so long.

 **"speaking of old men, i assume you wanted something other than to tell me a knock-knock joke."**

"I knew you'd like that one. But yes. I have something that I was going to show you earlier, but you left before I had the chance." He lets the 'old' comment slide for now.  
 **"...ok…"  
** "Here." Gaster places a satchel on the bed, and gestures at it. Sans looks at it for a few moments, face unreadable. Not for the first time, Gaster finds himself wondering if it would be any easier if his eldest had been born with a hinged jaw. Or the ability to emote with any part of his face apart from his eyesockets and the slight movements in his cheek bones at all. "It's not going to bite."  
Hesitantly, he opens the bag, and his pupils light up. **"you finished it?"  
** "Yes."  
 **"...how many projects did you put on hold to get it done? the prototype hadn't been near comple-"  
** "That shouldn't be a concern."  
 **"but-"  
** "It's not a concern because it doesn't matter. Try it out."

Sans pulls the unassuming jar out of the bag and unscrews the lid with the same reverance as a human might treat their mythical cup from the old stories. There's a quiet pop of a vacuum releasing as he turns it. He holds it in place with his feet, and places his hands in front of him. Gaster had shown him how to do this and explained the theory as he demonstrated, but Sans has yet to actually summon his soul. Gaster hadn't pushed the matter either, summoning one's soul was the most vunerable you could make yourself.

A spark of light flares between his palms and the upside down white heart floats there. He sees something like relief in Sans eyes and hears it in the small sigh, before it's popped into the jar. He screws the lid on tight, and raises it to look at his soul closely, the science part of his mind taking the driving seat. Sans thought it would look … different. Not sure how, but different some how, considering that it was basically superglued together. But there it was, just floating in the magical containment field, doing it's thing. **"thanks, dad. how long can it stay in there?"  
** "If it was a human soul, probably indefinitely as their souls can persist outside of the body. However, due to the nature of monster souls, six hours at most. You may be able to stretch it to 17 hours at an absolute maximum on a boss soul but that's based purely on mathematics as we, obviously, as we couldn't test that. More than enough time to cover a scanning session." or a few. "How does it feel?"  
 **"weird."** Sans starts tapping on the glass gently and investigating it. **"how far away from it can you go? what would happen if you engaged a fight without it?"  
** "No limit on distance that we have discovered, and you don't _ever_ enter a fight without your soul in place."  
 **"why?"  
** "Magic is all about intent and responds to emotions, as you know. Put your soul back in."  
Sans throws him a questioning look but does as he's asked, handling the souls container and the soul with the utmost care. As it slips back into place, he feels like the world just turned up 5 degrees of colour that he hadn't noticed was missing until they were back. **"oh."  
** "Yes. Your soul is the epicenter of all of those things. It is likely you couldn't even manifest an attack. In fact, the strain of any magic may cause your body to break down immediately. The source of the magic holding the body together is in a jar, and while it is able to keep enough of a magical connection to keep the body alive-"  
 **"that's also why there's a time limit on keeping the soul seperate?"  
** "Indeed."  
 **"ok."** But his soul perks in his chest happily, regardless. No more sitting in scanners - he can get onboard with that.

Sans had been reading again by the time Papyrus lets himself in, not feeling like wandering around without his soul in place. He'd given it to his father to use in the prototype level reader as he was the one who'd backed out of it the other day and not expecting a visitor - but he'd engaged the lock on his door and the sudden intrusion didn't make him panic (if he could right now) because there was only two other people that could bypass it. He sets the book aside, carefully closing it with his palms and pushing it aside, making sure his fingers are well clear of the pages.

"HELLO BROTHER, HOW HAS YOUR DAY BEEN?" Sans knows that tone in Papyrus' voice. Dad's told him good news, probably about the soul container, and Pap's here to find out if he knows yet. "HAVE YOU HAD ANY GOOD NEWS?"  
Yep, good old pap. As subtle as a brick to the skull.  
 **"not that I can think of."** Doesn't mean Sans isn't gonna mess with him a little bit. Even if the distance and time away from his soul was making him feel… dull. Dull was a good word.  
"I… OH. ARE YOU… SURE?"  
 **"as sure as i am punny."  
** "O-OH. UHM. YOUR PUNS ARE NOT GOOD, EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY ARE SO THAT PROBABLY WASN'T THE BEST THING YOU COULD HAVE... NEVER MIND. THIS... IS NOW... AWKWARD IN THAT CASE."  
 **"why, you got something to tell me?"  
** "NO, DAD WAS SUPPOSED TO- I MEAN I WAS MERELY CURIOUS. THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON TODAY OR IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, NO BIG SCIENCY BREAKTHROUGHS OR ANYTHING THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MOST AWESOME OF SECRET KEEPERS, IS NOT ALLOWED TO TELL YOU ABOUT BEFORE OUR DAD DOES."  
 ** _i'd be laughing right now if i had the heart for it. eyyyy, that was pretty good. save that one.  
_** **"sounds like you can barely _contain_ your excitement."  
**Papyrus narrows his eyes at Sans, trying to tell if he knows that was a pun or not. He's struggling due to the lack of humour in the expression. or the lacj of anything. "INDEED."  
 **"are you sure you don't want to _let it out_ of your ribcage? My door is not a door, it's always _ajar_ for you, you know."**

He sees it click. Or, more, hears it with an exasperated sigh. "HE DID TELL YOU! WHY MUST YOU MAKE SUCH TERRIBLE JOKES ABOUT SUCH AMAZING NEWS?"  
 **"i guess it's because-"**  
"SANS WAIT, NO, I KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING"  
 **"-i've already-"  
** "STOP RIGHT NOW, BROTHER!"  
 **"put my _heart and soul_ into them."  
**"GOD DAMN IT. WHY WAS THE GREAT PAPYRUS CURSED WITH SUCH A BROTHER?" He waits for the laughter at his expense, the reason he doesn't actually mind engaging in the pun-based banter, but his brother just gives a quietly perplexed 'huh' and turns his attention back to Papyrus.  
 **"how's school?"  
** Papyrus holds up a stack of papers. "MATH." he pulls a face, but again the expected reaction is missing. Sans folds his legs up so they're crossed and Papyrus takes his place next to him, placing the work in front of them, but yet to open it. "IS- IS SOMETHING WRONG BROTHER?"  
 **"not apart from your algebra."** Sans has already opened the pages after fumbling with them for a minute, and the first few aren't great. He tries to soften and make the tone teasing, but it sounds wrong without the affection in the inflection.  
"I AM VERY GREAT AT A LOT OF THINGS, BUT UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU SCIENCY TYPES INSIST ON USING NUMBERS INSTEAD OF LETTERS IS NOT ONE OF THEM." He sighs heavily. "I REALLY HATE THE LETTER X. IT'S THE WORST LETTER OF THE ALPHABET."  
 **"i think it's x-cellent."  
** "...I WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THAT ONE, I CANNOT BLAME YOU AT ALL. I WILL FORGIVE YOU THIS TIME ONLY."  
A moment of pause fills the air, and Sans flips back to the first page. **"ok, i know how to help you with this."  
** "SANS, WAIT."  
He looks up at his brother with a questioning look.  
"ONE OF THE THINGS I AM GOOD AT IS FEELINGS. _YOUR_ FEELINGS." The eyes narrow and look away for a moment as he adds quietly "...SOMEONE IN THIS FAMILY HAS TO BE…" then he focuses back on Sans, earnest expression in place. "YOU SEEM OFF TODAY. ARE YOU HAVING ONE OF YOUR SAD DAYS? WE DON'T HAVE TO DO MATH."  
Pap's too sweet. He thinks that navigating this would be easier he could feel the fondness he normally does. It's strange to not feel a thing when he looks at him **"no, it's nothing like that. i'm having a scan right now, and you know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder? they're kinda wrong."  
** "OH! THAT EXPLAINS IT THEN. AND, THE NEW CONTAINER MEANS THAT YOU CAN HAVE A SCAN AND HELP ME WITH MATH AT THE SAME TIME! THIS… IS PROBABLY… THE GREATEST THING HE'S EVER DONE!"

A laugh can be heard as the door opens quietly, then a third figure enters the room holding a container. "Hello Papyrus, you should have told me you were going to visit, I would have got us food on order. And here-" he hands off the container to Sans, which draws Papyrus' attention with great interest. "You probably want this back. Sorry it took so long."  
 **"thanks."** He notices Papyrus' curious look, and doesn't even have to think about it before offering it out to him. Probably the only person he trusts more with it. **"wanna see?"  
** Papyrus gasps, and takes it gingerly like just touching the container was going to hurt it. He's amazed and transfixed by it, turning the container slowly. It's the first soul he's seen, ever.  
"Any adverse effects from seperating for so long?"  
 **"mmm… depends on what you mean by 'adverse'."  
** "So that's a yes?"  
 **"it means it depends on what you mean by 'adverse'. there's effects, but i'm probably not the best judge of good and bad right now. unless we're talking about this."** He bops Papyrus lightly on the head with his homework. Ah, so that's the reason for the sudden visit. Gaster's expecting laughter from at at least one of the two boys, but the expected sound doesn't follow up. Even the usual exasperated sigh has a couple more layers of emotion to it than usual, papyrus quickly passing the container back.  
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TEASING ME, CAN YOU PLEASE PUT THAT BACK IN FIRST." it's not a question.  
Gaster definitely gets where Papyrus is coming from. Sans talks and acts like his son but it's very, very disconcerting when none of the humour playful laughter accompanies it. Well, this was not unexpected, but it's not comfortable to watch or listen to.  
 **"but teasing you is my _soul_ purpose in life."** He holds up the jar to accentuate his point. Yep, Gaster definitely agrees with Papyrus on this one. It's too strange hearing this without the usual inflections or seeing the grin.  
"SANS NO."  
 **"sans yes. 'sides-"** he puts the soul container on his nightstand next to his bed. **"i'm leaving it out for a bit."**

"What?"  
"WHY?"

Sans takes a moment to read both faces considering the two answers came at him simultaneously. **"ok, neither of you look very happy about that. him-"** he points to Papyrus **"-i get, but where's your curiosity, dad? mine's in a jar, and even I know that from a research standpoint we should do this at least once. especially as we currently have two people to make sure there's no trouble."  
** "ABSOLUTELY NOT."  
"I'm agreeing with your brother on this one."  
 **"c'mon. if we go to do this again, it's gonna freak me out when i can get freaked out and i'm not gonna do it. not for longer than it takes to do whatever scans are needed, any way, it's still preferable to sitting in the machines. i think. i'll tell you later. and it would be a good idea to find out any other effects of the seperation while in a controlled environment, rather than finding out when there's a snag later."  
** "NO, NO SNAGS ARE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN WHEN YOUR SOUL IS OUTSIDE YOUR BODY. I'M STARTING TO THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE WORST IDEA."  
"...He does have a point Papyrus." And Gaster hates to admit that. Especially as there's no victorious smirk or accompanying grin.  
 **"logic always wins, pap."  
** "I HATE LOGIC." He simply pouts.  
 **"hey, dad said something about dinner. why don't you pick this time?"  
** "IT WAS YOUR TURN."  
 **"and i'm lettin' you have it. c'mon, a hungry pap is a grumpy pap and i'm not doing math with a grumpy pap."  
** "...FINE." Papyrus stands up, and starts to make his way to the door. "BUT BE PREPARED FOR IT TO TAKE MORE THAN FOOD TO STOP ME BEING GRUMPY THIS TIME. THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS-"  
 **"wait a sec."** Papyrus sighs at the interruption and turns back, and is met with the sight of the jar being held out to him. **"you take it."**

He watches Papyrus' anger at the situation melt away. He looks like he's dangerously close to crying, he's so touched. Gaster has to marvel at the fact that even at the epitome of cold logic, his son's still all about making the youngest feel better. "BUT WHAT IF-"  
 **"nothing bad is gonna happen to it with the greatest monster in the underground looking after it."** He waves a casual hand in the air. **"lazy and clumsy shouldn't look after something that important."  
** "O-OKAY. I DON'T KNOW IF I'D SAY CLUMSY, BUT YOU ARE RATHER LAZY." And just like that they're apparently going for dinner. Gaster stares at the back of their heads as he marvels at what just happened, before Sans turns to him and gestures his head towards the door.  
"I'm coming." He shakes his head, and follows. Today was turning out to be more than the usual speed of strange.

 **"...i said effects. plural. and i was gonna tell you but we got sidetracked on the effects discussion."** Sans is looking at his fallen fork like it's a puzzle to be worked out.  
"THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED!" Papyrus sounds three thousand percent just done with his brother right now.  
 **"eh, hang on.** " He slides it to the edge of the table, and presses on it until the metal bends over the edge on the tip of the handle, then follows the curve around. Too much pressure is applied, and the metal snaps. He pushes the fork at Papyrus, doing the most logical thing. **"thought I was onto something, but didn't account for too much pressure. pap, stop complaining and help me? please?"  
** "ONLY BECAUSE _I_ WOULD BE SAD IF YOU STARVED. EVEN IF IT'S MORE THAN YOU DESERVE RIGHT NOW."  
Gaster suppresses a chuckle, and discreetly checks the time on his phone. Coming up for two hours. Five was going to be the limit unless anything horrific happened sooner than that.  
"You should make aeroplane noises while you feed him. It helps the absorption process and he'll get more nutrients."  
"REALLY?"  
 **"no, it doesn't pap - absorption works the same as you chewing. dad, if you're going to feed him bullshit science at least feed him useful bullshit science. we would probably benefit from a psychologist in the family, after all."  
** Gaster's now laughing, but after papyrus makes an aeroplane noises and bumps the fork on Sans' teeth he simply says "Consider it your punishment for 'forgetting' to tell us that you had lost the feeling in your hands."  
 **"fingers. it was only my fingers at the time. and joke's on you anyway-"** He takes the forkful from papyrus, flipping his father off at the same time for effect **"- because I literally can't feel embarrassed about this right now."**

After the meal is done, during which Sans notes his brother is unusually quite during and idly thinks he would otherwise feel concerned about that, they sit around the table for a while. Gaster exchanges a few notes on behaviour, and takes a few tests on how far the numbness in his physical body has spread. He's halfway down tapping on Sans' spine when Papyrus speaks up.  
"SANS, I'VE BEEN THINKING…"  
 **"uh oh."  
** "NO TEASING WITHOUT YOUR SOUL. I TOLD YOU THAT ON THE WAY HERE."  
 **"fine, fine. 'sup bro?"  
** "WELL…"  
 **"...by the look on your face, you are about to ask something that you should probably wait to ask."  
** "I DON'T THINK I SHOULD. IF I ASK LATER, YOU'RE GOING TO LIE."  
 **"this definitely _sounds_ like something you should be asking later."** He feels Gaster's hands pause on his hip joints where the legs start. **"i feel you now, and i don't think you need to go down any further. i can check the rest easy, and you obviously want to listen in so go ahead if it's fine with pap."**

Gaster takes a seat and papyrus indicates it's fine. Sans watches as his brother chooses his words carefully.

"IF YOU CANNOT FEEL EMOTIONS… THAT MEANS YOU DON'T LOVE ME RIGHT NOW, CORRECT?"  
Gaster feels his metaphorical heart break for a moment, but then without missing a beat Sans speaks up with something that prevents that from happening.  
 **"dude, i gave you my soul to look after."  
** "BUT-"  
 **"look, you really should have asked me this later. But i'll answer if you really want me to."  
** "I… I DO."  
 **"you need to sound more sure than that."  
** "YES! YES, I WANT YOU TO ANSWER."  
 **"of course you do."** He closes his eyes and takes a minute to think about how to word this correctly so as to do the least amount of damage to his brother's feelings. He opens them again, and stares at his hands. **"then listen to everything I've got to say without interrupting."#  
** "OKAY."  
Sans still answers slowly, thinking hard over his words and taking the time to articulate them in the best way he can think of without being able to follow his emotions. he watches Papyrus to keep a read on his feelings as he talks to try and guide him in place of his own. **"no. I don't. But I know that I still love you, and that the moment we put my soul back, all the warm fuzzies will come rushing back in. I was thinking about how to answer this a minute ago without hurting your feelings because that will always be true, and even without the feeling behind it, I know that I know you are the most important thing. And it doesn't wipe out trust or anything like that, hence why I gave you my soul to look after; because I know it's safe. And, while I was thinking about that, I had another thought and your face as I talked confirmed it for me."** He stares at Papyrus as he starts verbally putting the pieces together. **"you're associating this with a depressive episode, correct? because they sound and look similar?"  
** "...MAYBE…"  
 **"then you have nothing to worry about."** Sans goes to make a gesture, and he manages to catch the ends of his fingers with a loud thud as he lifts it. **"welp, that sounded like it should have hurt. anyway. as I was saying-"  
** "Sans, you should-"  
 **"i said without interrupting."  
** " _BROTHER_ -"  
 **"let me finish. they're not the same thing. even in an episode, i still love you… it just might get a little lost behind everything else, okay?"  
** "OKAY, BUT NOW CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK AT YOUR HAND BECAUSE-"  
 **"oh, the fingers came off. Well that's new."**

Gaster kind of wants to scream right now out of frustration. He settles for a massive sigh.  
"DON'T TOUCH THEM!"  
 **"i was only gonna try and put them back on."  
** "NYEEEH! YOU SNAPPED A FORK. THEY ARE TINY FINGERBONES. DON'T TOUCH THEM."  
"He's right, you can't risk picking them up. You can't feel how much pressure you are putting on them and we have no idea, if you break them, that they would heal after you put your soul back in.  
"WHICH YOU SHOULD DO RIGHT NOW."  
 **"well we could always- nope, never mind."  
** "What? Healing magic isn't going to work right now so if that was the idea, think harder."  
 **"nah, that wasn't it… i'm punder a joke ban, remember?"  
** "SANS!"  
 **"you both need to calm down."  
** "NO, YOU NEED TO- TO- UNCALM DOWN."  
 **"that's both illogical and impossible. and not to add to the situation but I also can't feel my legs. feet yes, legs a solid no."  
** "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus looks like he's about to slam the container on the table, but he places it in front of his brother. Gently, very gently, but with purpose. "IN. NOW."  
"I actually think he's right."  
 **"time?"  
** Gaster looks at his phone while Papyrus nudges the container closer to him glaring at him angrily.  
"Three hours and fifty six minutes."  
 **"speed of deteriation increased in the last seventeen minutes... but it might have been more to do with knocking my hand."  
** "...How long have you not been able to feel your legs?" Gaster pinches at the bridge of his nose. Somehow, his son was even more frustrating like this.  
 **"from the top twenty three-ish minutes or so ago. i wasn't countin', too busy talking to pap. told him he shoulda waited."  
** "YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE!" Papyrus has officially reached his limit and storms off. Sans watches him go.

 **"i'm... gonna feel bad about that later. i wasn't blaming him though."  
** "No, you were just stating a fact." Gaster sighs, feeling exhausted. "Just put your damned soul back in. We have what we need. Falling apart definitely counts as a "something" happening."  
 **"yup."** He still doesn't open the container.  
"Sans…"  
 **"i can't feel my hands and i'm missing the tips of three fingers. and papyrus just stormed off. i ain't touching that thing. So if you could…"** he gestures with his head instead of his hand.  
"Oh. Sorry." Gaster reaches over and opens the container carefully.

The minute his fingertips - he used the hand that still had them - made contact with his soul, the soul vanishes from sight.

Sans flops forward with a tired sigh, like a drunk nursing a hangover. He reaches out and grabs the tips of his fingers, and with quiet resignation holds them and his broken hand out to his dad who immediately and carefully sets to fixing it.  
"So... what did we learn?"  
 **"never, ever listen to me when I have a logically sound scientific curiosity?"** he doesn't lift his skull from the table.  
"Well, yes."  
 **"and that having no emotions and making puns makes you sound like kind of a dick by default?"  
** "also yes."  
 **"and that somehow, by the grace of whatever god cursed the skeleton monster race, pins and needles are actually a thing."  
** "Oh, really?That's-"  
 **"weird. and painful. either option is acceptable as the end of that sentence. 'interesting' is not."** Gaster chuckles quietly, and let's go of Sans' hand now he's finished aiding the reattaching. **"awesome. and speaking of painful, i gotta go find my brother."  
** "Also yes." He watches as Sans makes his way out of the room, shaking his limbs out as the feeling returns to them, the magic that had been flagging away from them and barely keeping him together reconnects itself with and through them painfully.

It doesn't take him long to find Papyrus as the younger of them both hadn't actually got far. He'd made it halfway down the corridor, and say himself down. He looked like he was debating with himself over something. Sans slides himself down onto the floor next to him.  
 **"sorry."  
** "IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT, AND EVEN IF IT WAS I WOULD HAVE ALREADY FORGIVEN YOU. I'M JUST GLAD IT'S YOU YOU NOW."  
 **"yeah, that was… it was somethin'."  
** They sit quietly for a moment, then Papyrus gives a sigh.

He can't believe he's about to do this, but it's what's been missing this whole time. And it would make his brother feel a whole lot better, he's sure.

"SANS… DID YOU KNOW I BROKE MY PENCIL? ACTUALLY, NEVER MIND. THAT STORY IS POINTLESS. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH."  
Sans blinks in surprise at Papyrus a couple of times, before the amusement and pride creeps into his eye lights and he's doubled over laughing. That was definitely what was missing.

 **"c'mon we've got some math to do, right?"**


	8. Chapter 8 - an exposition expedition

_Hey again! the next chapter was going to be a massive time jump (bigger than any so far) and I realised there was a few chunks of story and lore that needed to_ _be filled in for the chapter to make sense to anyone else but me. Sorry for the exposition, I tried to make it as natural as possible._

 _I am well ahead on story now but i refuse to upload from the app anymore XD_

* * *

Gaster compares the readings to the control sample readings again now he's alone, then pulls out the charts from the yellow soul that Asgore had 'found' and loaned them. If he knew Asgore, he was hoping Gaster would come up with a solution for the barrier problem without having to take another child's life.

Something else to add to his slowly growing work pile.

He runs a hand down his face, and sighs. Maybe he should get more staff in. A few interns, maybe? He makes a note in the margin of his notepad to start looking to the upper levels of the schools and put out some signs to see if he could attract anyone with potential. He also looks at his cellphone, which hasn't rung or chirped at all tonight thank goodness. But that was also a bad thing, because it means that someone was having a bad day, and he'd been so work focused it had slipped his attention until now. Gaster would be the first to admit that he didn't translate or read emotions well in others - it wasn't that he was clueless it was just that sometimes he was so busy looking to the answers that he completely skimmed over the question, to put it metaphorically. They had all been doing better, much better, and especially his eldest son, but one of the things he'd learned over time was that nothing had to go wrong for there to be a shift in mood. He supposed that was the nature of whatever was causing this within his son, and he had hoped that the new scanner would illuminate… something about the issue.

So far, this was not the case. He did, however, find something else interesting, which was how he'd found himself triple checking the results in front of him until he'd distracted himself with his musings. He refocused himself, making himself a promise to try and remember to try the line again later. If there was still nothing, he'd text dan- Monster Guy. Damn it, Sans, that name was pretty catchy.  
"DAD?" The door to his room swings open. He looks up from his papers at Papyrus.  
"Would you like me to come and do it?" He preempts the question and answers it with his own. Papyrus gives a grumpy mumble, but Gaster doesn't catch exactly what was said. He can guess though. "If they're that bad, I won't try to do the voices."

Papyrus considers this, and visibly brightens. "NYEH HEH HEH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FIND THIS ACCEPTABLE. BUT IF HE CALLS, YOU ARE TO WAKE ME UP."

Gaster allows himself a quiet chuckle in the wake of the door slamming closed, and he pockets his phone as he leaves to go read to Papyrus. Better than him being in a mood all day tomorrow.  
Worry niggles him again. It was a very rare event that bedtime was missed ever since he'd had the idea of putting a lined phone in Sans' room. It was an even rarer event the they got no call at all, and on those days he usually still answered. He reads 'fluffy bunny's to Papyrus, who is satisfied enough that he settles in to sleep. He's just getting his phone out to call a second time, when it rings.

 **"hey dad."** Sans sounds… exhausted. But happy, which floods Gaster with relief.  
"Good evening."  
"IS THAT SANS?" the call comes from the other bedroom.  
 **"hey, tell him it's santa."  
** "Do not involve me in winding your brother up." But Gaster is grinning on his end of the phone even as his door is all but kicked off its hinges as it bursts open.. He hands off the phone to Papyrus immediately.

"YOU'RE LATE, BROTHER! WERE YOU SLEEPING? I BET YOU WERE SLEEPING."  
 **"hehe, yep. you caught me."** even as he says it, he idly wipes the remnants of dirt and oil off of his hands on his shorts.  
"LAZYBONES. YOU MISSED THE BEDTIME STORY."  
 **"sorry, pap. did dad try and do the voices again?"  
** "NOT THIS TIME."  
 **"so you wanna hear it told properly?"  
** "I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Sans lifts his left hand and his copy of fluffy bunny floats into his lap, and the telltale echo of hands free comes through. He hears Papyrus settle himself into his covers, then Sans begins to read.

Gaster goes through when he hears them exchange 'goodnight's and says his own to Papyrus as he takes his phone with a smile.  
 **"you know he just does it so he can hear the story twice."** Sans chuckles quietly as Gaster hits the speaker button again to switch back to the ear piece.  
"I don't doubt it. I don't tell stories that badly."  
 **"i dunno, you're too shelf-conscious to get the voices right."  
** Gaster feels a laugh slip out. "I prefer books about black holes. They really suck me in."  
Sans laughs hard on his end of the phone. **"eh, I found the grammar hard in them until I read the comma sutra. those books made me feel dense before that."  
** Gaster shakes his head as he laughs harder. Once they've run their course on laughter, Gaster decides to disengage before this gets out of hand. "So is everything okay?"  
 **"yep, is now. jenny crapped out but i fixed 'er. i lost track of time while i was working."  
** "I don't think I will ever understand your attachment to that machine."  
 **"just showing her the love she deserves before she becomes obsolete."** Gaster can hear the grin down the phone.  
"Right." He has no idea what else to say to that. "So what was the issue?"  
 **"probably the fact she hasn't had new parts since the dinosaurs roamed. i'd make a joke, but it's not kind to poke fun at the elderly."  
** That makes Gaster chuckle again. "Since when has that stopped you?"  
 **"since I actually _like_ this old lady."** His voice is just full of the smug grin that gaster knows is on his face right now. **"oh, shoot, i gotta go. didn't notice i was this late. i'm gonna go finish my date with a pensioner. see you tomorrow."  
** The line goes dead in his ear, then picks up the dial tone. Gaster has nothing to except shake his head with an amused smile.

He turns back to his desk to finish his own 'date'.

Gaster takes a minute to just stare at what he was being shown. There was a rolled up piece of paper that looked suspiciously like the blueprint sheet propped against the wall, and 'jenny' was half the size that she was and was purring like a kitten.  
"So… by 'fix', he meant 'rebuilt from the ground up'?" He asks, dumbfounded.  
"Yeah. He came by when we asked him to call you to either come fix it or arrange maintenance, managed to get it working, then came back again later with a heap of parts. He only left off and went to bed about an hour ago or so."  
"Damn."  
"Haha, yeah." The guy laughs at the reaction. "So, should we send someone to-"  
"Let him sleep. I'll speak to him later."  
"Whatever you say, boss."

Nearly the whole lab is buzzing through the day, talk of the new generator already circulated and most of them having seen it. Seems it's not just Gaster he's impressed. Gaster gives him a full eight hours before he goes to rouse him, but he finds an empty room. He checks the most obvious places, and finds him back in the generator room already. Nobody had seen him walk through, but that didn't surprise Gaster in the slightest. He already had smudges covering him, and had set up a mini-backup generator so he could work with power still being provided.  
 **"'sup dad?"** The voice comes from inside the machine, not looking out from what he was doing.  
"It was working fine, how come you're back at it again?"  
 **"eh, just some fine tuning. i used some of the core's thermal energy conversion principles and scaled them down. it's not gonna be enough to power the underground, but should keep the lab going until you've got something better. and because the amount of energy needed is not so large, the cooling system was way less of a bitch to figure out." Gaster** takes a minute to compute while Sans carries on, only pausing to beckon tools to him as he works. **"it worked fine, but it hit me a couple hours ago that if I can re-route the cooling system to go all the way through instead of just at the current conversion point, efficiency could be increased by feeding the energy through a second thermal siphon to concentrate the magical energy. she's got the empty space begging to be used and use it i shall."**

Not a pun in sight, but his voice sounds full of life. He'd sounded the same last night, too. Now, Gaster knew that Sans enjoyed the sciences almost as much as he did himself, but he'd yet to get him to do more than study. But if he was taken with it like this…

 **"you haven't said anything in about four minutes. are you annoyed I took the core plans? they're in the corner if you want them ba-"  
** "Can you come out?"  
 **"give me… about… twelve and a half minutes... give or take five in either direction and i'll be done."  
** "I'll wait."

Oh crap. Maybe he should have asked first. Between being distracted by what he was working on and being inside of the machine, he wasn't able to get a good read on how deep the grave he just dug himself was. He works as fast as he can while being as careful as possible, and he's finally done. **_well, jenny, it was good while i knew you. send flowers to pap and make sure you are in the list of things to spread me on. you were my first love._** He chuckles to himself, before carefully removing himself and the tools from the machine.

"Does it work?"  
 **"uhh… should do?"** He sounds unsure of himself. Gaster motions to him, and he reroutes power back through Jenny, looking both nervous and hopeful. Sure enough, she hums to life quietly as the mini generator clicks off. He quietly celebrates to himself with a small fist pump. **"yes!"  
** "This is good work. Really, _really_ good work."  
 **"this was… i mean, the groundwork was already there, i just scaled the numbers a little bit and so i don't know if you should call it my work-"  
** "I haven't got those numbers to work yet, Sans. This might be a smaller scale, but it's not my work - it's all you." Gaster grins at him as he stares down at the floor with a deep flush on his cheeks, but the smile in his eye lights translates the fact that his soul is all but soaring with the praise. "So you think the CORE's issue is the cooling system?"  
 **"well... yeah. it's lava."** He pupils lift back to Gaster with just a touch of 'well, duh'. **"the numbers are sound otherwise this wouldn't have worked, the design itself seems… fine, if a little old fashioned, but that's a whole lotta lava you're trying to cool at once. the problem is that the heat is overloading the system - this is just taking the heat that the lava produces, not the lava itself after all. you could dump all the snow in snowdin into the system but unless the system itself is efficient enough it has a snowball's chance in hell of not overheating. pun _definitely_ intended."**

Gaster just raises a brow bone at him. The confidence runs out of him.

 **"uhh… how boned am i right now?"  
** "Actually, quite the opposite. Although we may need to talk about how you got into my office without my knowledge. Keep getting into it, by the sounds of things."  
 **"...what?"  
** Gaster just beams at him. "Come with me, we have a discussion to have it seems."

He places the badge on the table, one that denotes the staff of the laboratory. Sans just looks at it, completely dumbfounded. "I was going to wait another couple of years, but it seems like you're more than ready if this is what you want to do."  
The pupils lift from the badge to him, and he can feel Sans reading him. Not his numbers, but everything else about him. **"if i don't want to?"  
** "Entirely your choice."  
 **"what if i wanted to run away to waterfall and join the circus?"  
** "There's no circus in the underground."  
 **"i could become a clown and start one. the sansational skelepun's travelling show**." He gestures with an arm to emphasize the title.  
"The underground's a small place. Would you make enough money to live?"  
 **"...good point."** Sans picks up the badge with a grin. Gaster feels like there's something behind it, but he cannot get any sense of what it is so he decides to leave it. **"it's a good thing i'm sanstastic at other things too then. see ya at work monday, then... _boss_."**

Sans slips into the working teams like he'd never not been there. After the generator, not one person questioned whether the young skeleton belonged among them, and the doubtful ones (the oldest members, mainly, due to the fact he was the youngest staff member there) were quickly proved wrong. Sans laughed and joked with the workers, but still kept an emotional distance from them as much as possible. His dad's answers to his question had stuck with him and were bothering him something chronic, and he lapsed back into old habits of masking his no good feelings and thought with endless humour now that he was outside of his inner circle of 3. The trouble for everyone else was, not that they knew it, that he was better at it with age.

And also the fact that he was past the point of being young enough to go cry in the bathroom, which definitely helped to not tip people of his slowly sliding mood.

He'd made his peace with this life long ago. Didn't mean he liked it, but he accepted it. Besides, he enjoyed science and the challenge of helping with the CORE and dropping studying gave him time to look at things that interested him more. The work shift gave him more free time than endlessly studying, which meant he could delve into his personal interests further. 'Santa' had managed to steal a cellphone and wipe it, then essentially build a new one out of the parts with that spare time, and Santa had given it to Sans to give to Pap on Gyftmas for some reason he pulled out of his pelvis at the time. Hell knows what he said, Sans didn't actually remember, but Pap had been so ecstatic with the gift he didn't really question it further. Gaster dared not say a word about Santa, or the gift even though he had his suspicions. He didn't know why Sans was insistent on indulging the fantasy of the mythical Gyftmas man, but it wasn't something that he wanted to argue with Sans over. Again. The last one had ended with him 'accidentally' locked in his office over Gyftmas while the boys celebrated outside and engaged with him by signing through the door. Papyrus had been distraught all up until the gifts came out, then he's got so excited about the things he'd received that Sans had been able to distract his brother very easily for three whole days - the amount of time that it had taken for Gaster to very unwillingly write a 'thank you' note to 'santa' for Sans to 'send' with Papyrus'.

Gyftmas was off-limits to reality and Gaster didn't dare touch it again as much as his logic-based mind wanted to. It was also the first time that he found out he was really rather glad his eldest wasn't taken to arguments or revenge often, because he had a sharp edge he kept well hidden. So hidden, in fact, that Gaster had not been able to actually prove it was his fault at all, although he knew it.

In this time, progress had been made in the soul labs. Blueprints had been drawn up for a second machine, based on the first but much larger in scale, to extract seperate traits from souls. This was based on all the findings so far, but Gaster wasn't sure what could be done with the traits once extracted, all except for determination. Determination only existed in any amount in human souls, so far any monster soul showed up little to none. This was intriguing. That was as far as progress went in relation to the human souls. No, the progress was made with Sans. Gaster finally held some answers. Sans had high levels of justice and patience within his soul (Yes, Gaster thought that explained a lot in and of itself) and the readings are what actually prompted the team to take more samples of monster souls. They found variations of the levels of each trait in every sample, some higher than others... but so far Sans' were the only ones to this height. Every other trait reading showed up as little to none at all in his soul, however. The current theories in rotation was as follows:

When Gaster's magic was used to fix the child's soul, the mature magic had forced his young and unstable soul's magic to mature beyond it's limit. The already shattered nature of his soul made it 'porous' enough to absorb the fixing energy with the skeleton's magic as a catalyst, but in return it had warped it somewhat. He probably would have had to have had already somewhat high readings, though it would have been on the usual monster level of high and not low-level human readings that they were at. The soul has essentially lost all of it's traits except the two which were boosted, again without further progress with research it it unknown why. Some people think they drained away before the fixing, some people think the fixing caused it. It's a pretty neat 49/51 percentile split, actually, and Gaster falls on the side of the fixing causing it - his magic latching onto the the two highest traits and using the others to boost them to a workable level for a whole soul to remain - unless he gets proven otherwise later, of course. The instability and premature manifestation of his magic early in life and crashes are caused by the fact his soul is literally being held together by an outside catalyst (Gaster's magic). They have managed to prove -in as much as such a thing is proveable- that the emotional problems are caused by the fact that without the intervention his soul would have shattered. In fact, it seems likely that the depression is caused by the fact that his soul is constantly almost falling apart and being pulled back together, negative thoughts and feelings accelerating the process due to the facts monsters are generally made of positive emotions and energies like compassion, love and mercy. He removed his soul for a scan on one of his 'days', as Papyrus had decided to refer to them after Gaster called it an 'episode' and Papyrus had declared the word too medical and 'sciencey', and when they had got it out of his immediate vicinity the thing had dimmed and split apart to the point the thin purple and green threads holding it together internally had been visible. Gaster had returned it immediately, and it had pulled back together the moment it was back within the range for the little magic his body was made of was within range to support it. It was now a rule that on one of his 'days', Sans was not to be scanned if he did not want to sit in the machine itself (so that meant it was a rule he was never to be scanned, as he never wanted to and Gaster wasn't going to make him). It was an unspoken rule that nobody had told Sans of what had happened to his soul.  
Gaster had told him he changed his mind. He hadn't even argued that day when Sans told him he wasn't putting it back in because he needed a break for an hour or two, he'd just stayed to quietly supervise and make sure that his son didn't fall apart while it wasn't within him. Sans had seen the reaction as logical, which was fair as last time he _had_ lost three fingertips, and had allowed it even though he had also very bluntly told Gaster that wasn't everything and he knew it because it was " **written on your face with marker pen, or may as well be** ". He'd also noted that 'Dull Sans' as he'd called himself, was more of a dick on his 'days' and told him he wasn't going to apologize for it. That was fine by Gaster, just as long as 'Dull Sans' didn't become 'a pile of dust Sans'.

He had no progress on Asgore's little side project, and little idea how to make it as yet. Gaster finds the perfect intern, at least, to balance the scales of that one. After kicking out about thirty applicants who were not the right fit (and one that smelt if the wrong kind of cigarettes whom had stopped and spoken to Sans - they'd even had a quick hug which was wildly out of character for the skeleton but Gaster couldn't figure out what had gone on there), the small yellow dinosaur came through his door like an angel from above. It wasn't a lot more staff, but one good one was more than worth thirty bad so he would definitely make the trade on that one. She was anxious, stuttered a fair bit, bit she was bright, eager and willing to learn. She didn't go out of her way to make friends or talk to anyone at all if she didn't need to, the complete opposite to Sans' technique of keep everyone at distance by beingly as friendly and charismatic as he needed to be to quietly control the room, but she's a sweet girl he's pretty sure. Her work didn't appear to suffer for the anxiety, except for the fact that when she went to hand in her work she often second guessed it and went to take it back or turned around before she even got to him. He got into the habit on checking in with her fairly often so good work would make it to him before it would be taken back.

Things are just about the usual level of chaotic, and Gaster thinks to himself that he will happily take it. The voice in his skull that tells him he's a damn jinx sounds suspiciously like his eldest son's.


	9. Chapter 9 - A gravitous situation

_Believe it or not, this is actually the second thing I had written for this when it was originally a group of just 7 ficlets. The first chapter was actually the fifth thing I wrote. Snippets of trivia nobody asked for, awaaaay! I'm actually proud of how far this thing has come though._

 _That said, thanks to everyone still reading, thanks for the comments, faves and follows! :)_

* * *

"Sans!" His father snapped at him from the other room. "For the love of God, would you please cooperate." Hehehe, he could hear Gaster was at his wits end by the tone in his voice. Good. Sans was bored and having a bad, bad day and the sometimes the best way to amuse himself in here was to wind his father up until he snapped. Some days it took longer than others, but he was actually getting pretty good at it. Plus, he was real close to something big on a side project, he knew it, he just needed space and time to work on it. haha, that's a good one, considering.  
 **"tibia honest, i don't feel like it today."** He quips lazily, laying back on his bed and looking at the 'stars', hand glowing a lazy blue as it held the bookshelf against the bedroom door frame with the door hanging open. Doing it that way held it more flush against the wall, and the handle didn't get in the way. He feels his father's magic push back against his - probably hands. He just keeps it steady for now, although he knows that if push becomes shove he'll lose. Sure he might win on brute strength if he threw every ounce of magic into it, and only _might_ , but his father would definitely win on pure stamina. He didn't think he'd ever seen him tire using magic.  
"You're being a child."  
 **"'bout time."** He feels the prodding magic falter in it's trying to find a gap. Oh, had he hit a nerve? **"nah, couldn't have hit a nerve, you're a skele-ton harder than that."**

He really shouldn't take it out on his father, he knows, but it wasn't a day where he could push back his darker thoughts enough to play nice with the other staff. He had knew the trigger this time, but it wasn't anything that he could do from in here which had started off the spiral of being trapped and worthless. But he still called and listened anyway.

"If that's the way you wish to play this today, then _fine_." The probably-hands disappear from against his magic, and Sans waits for a moment.

Two.

He slowly cracks a gap and his father has walked away. Huh. That was a lot easier than expected. Almost... too easy. Mind you, he had done the verbal equivalent of swinging below the belt, so maybe not. He places the shelf back in its place and grabs out the last book he was reading without moving from his spot on the bed. He'd originally been reading about feedback loops within climate science and mechanical engineering to see if there was a way to apply the principle to the CORE'S current design to solve the current wasted energy problem that his team he was currently placed with was working on, but… he wasn't in the mood for being helpful today. Instead, he took out his notebook and the book tucked inside the book on quantum entanglement, margin notes on space-time curves, and the path integral formulation and gave his painstaking meshing of them a read over again. Seems as solid as it's ever going to be, not like messing with quantum mechanics is ever going to be a dead cert anyway, not even with magic to help it along. Now, theoretically, this side project was possible. But he'd yet to actually crack it. Probably because he was pretty sure he was actually going insane from being helplessly cooped up and this was the peak of that insanity in reality. But, hey. a fella's gotta do something with his free time, right?

An alarm went off by the assistant's post, and he hurriedly checked the cameras. Weird. Sans was just sat reading notes and books. The hand was blue, but nothing in the room actually indicated that he was doing anything at all that would set of the alarm they'd had fitted after the _incident_ to detect abnormally high magic levels in the area. He texts the boss anyway, and it's not long before the watch post is filled with Gaster's intimidating presence.  
"What is he doing?"  
"I don't know. Nothing by the looks of it, but he's definitely channeling magic. His hand's blue so… gravity, right?"  
Gaster sighs in frustration. "I will keep an eye on him. Go to the DT labs and see if they need a hand on the research or building there. And I need a coffee. Not in that order."  
"O...kay..."

Gaster settles himself in to wait, equal parts curious, wary, and annoyed.

It's really hard to focus magic on something you can't see. But, he's not doing this uninformed by any means. Years of quiet side research - it had started out as an interest that had spiralled when he realised the humans actually had started om a theory he could work with - and it hadn't easy by any feat considering that he knows he is being watched the whole time but he has his ways. He'd figured out the new cameras within months, boredom was a good motivator to find things like blind spots once pap had broke through his initial void of depression. He'd started with theorising and testing his limits during practice in subtle ways (part of the fun there is trying to not get caught) and he knows it should be possible if the science is as sound as it seemed. Sans pushes a little more gravity into the space in front of him, looking around him cautiously. He's half expecting someone to cut in on him, like they always did, but (weirdly) they seem to be leaving him to his own devices today. He reaches deeper into his magic reserves, and feels it feed back into hand and left eye socket. The glow dies as he takes a sharp breath of pain. Shit. Shit shit shit, that hurt. He takes a minute to rub at the eye socket and let the pain pass somewhat, before tapping a phalange on his teeth thoughtfully _. maybe a focus point will help._ Casting magic on subatomic levels was going to be finicky as it was, maybe having something visible to manipulate around would be easier. Also the object's own mass would begin the curve instead of him having to do it from scratch. Okay, so, this sounds like a plan. the heavier, the better, but not too big.

Gaster watches, mug in hand, as his son moves across the room and picks up a paperweight one of the staff had given to him… at some point. Maybe at gyftmas? Gaster can't remember. He goes back to the bed and sits back on it cross-legged, paperweight making a dimple in the bedsheets, and the left hand starts glowing again. Gaster expected it to do… something, but again it's just him channeling enough magic that the quiet alarm kicks back in.  
 _What on earth are you doing, Sans?  
_ Both wariness and frustration have both dissipated into an overwhelming curiosity, and he wraps his other hand around the other side of the mug, leaning forward towards the screen that's now transfixing him.

The magic he was pulling was taxing, it felt like he'd been in the test room for two days straight, but he ignores it and adds more gravitational force to the layer under the paperweight. A sweat breaks out across his skull, but he keeps on adding to the gravitational force on the point he was focused in on, careful not to pull too quickly from too deep again and cause the magical feedback. _hopefully_.

It's been 40 minutes and the sound of the alarm is starting to give Gaster an ache in his skull. He drains what's left in the mug.

...It's weird. All sci-fi mediums and the movies build it up like there's going to be a light show or a visible tear when you move the fabric of space-time enough to pass something through it and yet, it just… vanishes, the paperweight dropping from view like a stone in a puddle. There's no big light show, no sound, not even ripples, it's just… there, then not there. It actually takes a full minute of blinking for Sans to realise what he'd just done. Excitement creeps into Sans' eyelights as Gaster drops the mug. The alarm stops. The viewing room is left in deafening silence. Sans looks directly at the camera from where he's sat, still unaware that his father is specifically the one watching him now. If he'd known that, he would have taken a bow.

 ** _this_** _ **. i can work with this. but for now? nap time. turns out breaking reality leaves you bone tired, heh.** _

A day and a half Sans slept for. Gaster had found the notes in that time but it was like Sans had written them in a way that was deliberately obtuse; notes written both in Gaster's symbols as well as mono font, but it would flip between both in one sentence, sometimes even mid- word, equations were broken up in a way that Gaster couldn't easily piece them together, and he's pretty sure the latter half is in a cipher. So he knew the words and what they meant, mostly, but it was like trying to pieces together a puzzle with no edge pieces and no picture. Who was he kidding, that's exactly what Sans had done, writing them in a way that's obtuse on purpose, and Gaster was about ready to climb out of his skeleton by the time Sans woke up because his scientific curiosity was overriding just about everything else. He wasn't too concerned about the sleeping - the crashes were nowhere near as sudden or as bad as wgen he was younger, but they still happened - and Gaster was there almost instantly the minute he stirred.

 **"hehe, knew it."** Are the first words out of his son's mouth and Gaster really wants to shake him right now. The fact that they were also means Gaster has the added frustration of his current episode not being over and Gaster struggles to know what to say when he's like this. Although, he reminds himself, antagonistic is better than silence.  
"Good afternoon to you, too." Gaster replied, only half ready to throttle him. well, that's good enough.  
 **"aww, anyone would think you cared."** Sans quips, teasing tone in place but designed to needle.  
"I _do_ care, despite what you seem to think." And it was true, he did love Sans, but that doesn't stop the frustration in his tone either. The barb from his son needled at him enough that he felt the curiosity drop out of him almost entirely. "How _are_ you feeling?"  
 **"with my hands and body. which is really weird when you consider we've got no nervous system."** He definitely still wants to throttle him though - but in a loving way.  
"You are insufferable."  
 **"nah, I'm sans. sans the skeleton, nice to meet'cha."** He winks at his dad. **"so… what do you want?"** Like he doesn't already know. Gaster picks up the small pile of notes and drops them in his son's lap. He sees the smirk in his eyes. **"you liked my project? good, i put a lot of backbone into it."  
** "Sans."  
 **" _tibia_ honest, I thought you would have figured it out by now."  
**"Your bad puns aren't going to derail this discussion."  
 **"i know. but i'm bored out of my skull, and i've got to tickle my funny bone somehow."  
** Gaster just sighs in frustration. "What did you do?"  
 **"you've read the notes."** Sans shrugs, knowing that he's really winding Gaster up.  
"It's like reading a dissertation from a three year old."  
 **"i take offense to that. you'd have to be at least three and a half to write a dissertation. maybe four."  
** " _Sans._ Why do you insist on behaving like this?"

 **"because now I know something you don't know."** He says it smugly, and for some reason he drops his font as he does. Gaster's not sure why, but it's back as he continues. **"you'll figure it out eventually, i know that, but hey. gotta do somethin' with my free time. the core's shell is almost built now, i definitely think the team is onto something with the feedback loop it's just figuring out how to extend the current cooling system to deal with the heat energy going back in, so I figure that driving you nuts is the next thing on my to do list. but why not do it simultaneously, i can multi-task."**

Gaster levels him with a flat look. "Really."

 **"yep. you're still stuck on theories as far as my magic goes, you haven't figured out how to increase the damage, you haven't figured out what's capping my hp _apparently_ , and if you, royal scientist doctor wingdings gaster, haven't managed in… i forget how many years now-"** lie: he knows _exactly_ how many years it's been **"-it's not gonna happen. but, being your little lab rat has helped lead to breakthroughs in soul study as far as the discovery of traits, and the all new things you found when you studied the humans souls to find out more about those _and_ the fact they can exist in monsters souls but not as much, et cetera, that you're setting up to isolate and study them individually. especially determination. i've made my peace with never getting out of here, but it gets real boring sometimes. so i'm gonna amuse myself for a while." **A lot of what he says reminds Gaster that Sans is a lot more observant than Gaster remembers to give him credit for a lot of the time. He also is observant enough to know when this mood started happening but has no idea how to fix it.

Gaster wonders in the back of his mind somewhere how they ended up going back to this song and dance with how well things had _seemed_. "I don't think of you as a lab rat, Sans. I am trying to help you. That's all I've ever done."  
Sans looks at him now, taking in every inch of body language being thrown at him. **"...huh. you still believe that."  
** "Because it's true!" He sees the frustration rise up through his father. Sans stands and stretches out, shrugging the last of the sleep out of his bones and walks out of the room to find food, leaving his father to think on that one. He leaves the notes for his father to take. Let him add it to the pile of breakthroughs, Sans doesn't care. At least he would have been good for something.

 **"whatever you say, doc."**

Life went on as normal – well, as normal as his life gets – for the next couple of weeks. Well, except that since their 'chat', the doc had been trying to make life a little easier, so Sans had responded in kind by going back to helping on the projects on finishing the core and helping build machinery for the DT labs as much as he still didn't really feel like it. His free time was spent trying to figure out how to specify an end point in space for a moved object, but once the initial breakthrough had been made things slotted into place easier. And although it still used a fairly large amount of magic to move an object from one space to another, it was like everything else – practice made it easier. Once he figured out how to move an object to specifically from A to B, he then started experimenting with bigger and more varied objects. It then moved on again from just opening 'portals' underneath things to opening them vertically and nudging objects through either with a ruler or with magic. He had yet to actually try sticking a hand in it. Although this was kind of the end point, curiosity did not yet outweigh the risks and he'd had to do some final tweaks and calculations before risking that.

Things were going a lot faster now he was experimenting without keeping it too secret like when he was researching in the first place. And Gaster hadn't figured it out yet, Sans didn't think, but he wasn't going to have much longer. He looks over the new equation carefully. Welp. It's not like he's got anything to lose, and if it's as sound as the science in front of him, he may well give it a shot. It's going to be his only way out, he's sure, if he can nail it. He sets himself up with a book so he's sat casually reading, but so all the cam will see is his back. He sets up a vertical entry point at his fingertips and increases the gravity there, using his own hand for the curve rather than the book. It takes a little bit to be sure it's stable. He's just about to try reaching in, when-  
"Hey, w-what are you up to in here? Do you n-need anything?"  
Damn. He doesn't even look around at the intern who'd obviously been set up on camera duty. **"reading and no."  
** "O-okay… and you're actually d-doing?"  
He turns just his head to look at her, lifting the book with his right hand. **"reading. not a lot else to amuse myshelf with."  
** "O-oh… ha, i get it..." she gives a quiet chuckle, but a concerned look is on her face. "maybe the alarm is f-faulty or something…" she mutters to herself, so quietly he almost missed it whilst winding her claws together as she walked away.  
 **"alarm?"** The magic drops from his hand and he turns himself right around to look at her. Her claws go up to her mouth.  
"Oh no, oh dear, I d-didn't say a-anything about an a-alarm." She tries to speed up, and he follows.  
 **"what alarm?"** he thought he knew everything about this place, sneaky bastard.  
"Thehighlevelmagicdetector!" It comes out as a single word, nearly, followed by a quieter "Please don't hurt me." She wilts, looking at him fearfully. It stabs at him painfully, and he drops it without a second thought. He turns away from her, and she watches as his shoulders drooping as he shoves his hands in his pockets. It makes her pause, makes him look sad and older than his years, although she can tell he's trying to be casual.

 **"whatever. i've got a skele-ton of work to do, just go back to the screens. i won't say anything about knowing about the alarm."**

Now she just feels bad after watching his reactions to the words having been taken off guard by them and not quick enough to hide it. "I-I'm sorry. I k-kinda over reacted, d-didn't I? G-geeze, what a way to m-make a first impression... I'm the intern here, m-my na-"  
 **"i don't care. i don't need your name or a face to put to it."** He says quietly, feeling the edges of a familiar void of feeling trying to gnaw at him where he words had just exasterbated the feelings he'd been struggling with constantly for a long while now. now he just wants her to leave. **"go back to your screens and so you know... you only need to come down if i decide to blow something up. other than that, you text gaster."**

She flusters for a minute then turns on her heels and runs out. Okay, so, he feels bad about being harsh on top of everything else, but he can't really see how it matters unless he's working on the team at that moment in time. and even then, it's pointless in the end. He figures he now has about 20 minutes before she gets back to the room. Well, now or never, unless someone else hears the alarm... which that little tidbit explains a lot. He focuses on the bookshelf and holds up his left hand and rests it on the wall. Blue flares to life, and he pushes magic into the curve.

It's an odd sensation, as his fingertips sink into the portal, suddenly sinking into an area outside of space and coming out the other end. He feels solid under his fingertips, and he feels… books? Holy shit that's a book! He snags it and pulls it out, mood rebounding from where it had plummeted down to right up in the realms of ecstatic.

"Seems to me like you're getting the hang of doing the impossible."

He drops the book in surprise, aaaand there goes his mood again. **"eh, 'sup doc? i didn't expect you to be around yet."  
** "I thought I would come and investigate why I found the intern crying in a supply closet in the hall rather than being at her assignment." Sans gives a loose shrug, keeping the shame out of his face and posture. Gaster narrows his eyes at him.  
 **"and you assume it was me because…?"  
** "I dont assume things, Sans. I make educated guesses at the very least. And if you must know, she text me 10 minutes ago that she was coming to check on you, and to introduce herself as she hadn't had the chance yet, _then_ I get a second text to tell me the intern's gone awol." Gaster folds his arms, staring at his son all but oozing diasapproval.

 **"maybe it's because she's a cry-ceratops?"** Maybe he should definitely go apologize.

"You should to get over whatever us making you behave like this sooner rather than later; I thought you were supposed to be talking to me and Papyrus through your bad days and yet you've gone right back to pushing us away. Which is fine, until you start upsetting the staff." Gaster's having none of it today. "You don't just work with these people, you live with them whether you like it or not. Maybe if you stopped holding them at arm's length you might find life a bit easier here. Certainly more comfortable. At the very least, you might find some company you enjoy holding that's not just Papyrus. But what do I know?" the question is rhetorical, but cuts into Sans in a way he didn't expect. He definitely should go apologize. With nothing more to say, he turns and walks away.

Sans sighs, and leaves the room shortly after his father, slippers making almost no noise on the tiled floors outside of his living area. He doesn't get far before he hears muffled sniffles, it sounds like the worst of her crying is over. He follows the sounds of her trying to pull herself together, knocking softly on the closet door twice. **"knock knock."  
** "I-I'm s-sorry, just give me a m-minute."  
 **"you're supposed to say 'who's there'."  
** "O-oh. Uhh…. Who's there?"  
 **"interrupting skeleton."  
** "Inter-" that's as much as she can say before he opens the door and walks in. She looks at him stunned, then starts to laugh softly where she's sat, claws over her mouth. Sans sits himself beside her, pulling the door closed as he steps across the small space between them. She doesn't move except to shift her tail around herself tighter so that he's got room to sit.

"I owe yo **u an apology."** The words come from them simultaneously, which gets a chuckle from both.

 **"ok… you go first because I'm not sure why you need to."** he rests his head back against the shelf behind them as he says it.  
"W-well, I… I feel b-bad for o-overreacting. You haven't d-done anything wr-wrong and I've seen you w-working in your team and y-y-you're always nice… funny, too… b-but I let the stories get the b-better of me…"  
Stories? Nah, he'll ask later. And the compliments make him glad they're in a dimly lit closet because he can feel the warmth on his cheekbones. **"i shouldn't have followed you out... or said what i did."  
** "I-it's ok, really." She puts a hand on his knee. "I… I think I get it. The p-people who work here, m-most of them have worked here for a really long time, and they t-told me about what happened y-years ago and f-for someone who's not spoken to you themselves t-to b-be scared b-before you've even really talked to them… it c-can't feel good. Th-that's why I c-came in here, I got so worried th-that I'd upset you th-that I got so wound up I c-couldnt calm down and then i c-couldn't face g-going back into a r-room of p-people."  
That… surprises Sans. A lot. He shrugs, and the fabric of his hoodie rustles against her lab coat in the quiet pause. **"nah, 'sall good. i got thick skin."** She laughs quietly again. **"so… how about we try again? i'm sans, sans the skeleton. nice to meet'cha."  
** "I'm A-Alphys, I'm so g-g-glad I get to work with you a-and your father. I've l-looked up t-to him for a long t-time."  
 **"well, he is pretty tall."  
** "Good thing you're c-closer to m-my height then!" Alphys returns with a shy smile, which makes him chuckle.  
 **"c'mon, time we both got back to work."** He stands, offering her a hand. She takes it and allows him to help her back onto her feet.

Sans, honestly, never intended to let her get close to him. He was planning on doing the usual thing of just cracking jokes and holding her at an emotional arm's length the same as everyone else. But, somehow, she'd grown on him. It wasn't they way she laughed along with him, that number of people was about equal to those who groaned or shook their head, nor was it any one specific thing he could put his finger on. He was mulling it over one day, trying to disentagle and disengage himself from the warmth she gave to his soul when she was around, when Gaster let himself into Sans' room. It was a rare time he was caught off guard, and this was one of them.  
"Sans?"  
He jumps about a foot in the air. **"geeze, would it kill you to knock?"**  
"...I did. I had no answer, so I thought I would check in. What's got you all caught up?"  
 **"nothing."**  
Gaster sighs. "Of course it's not. It never is."  
Sans just glares at him.  
"You seem like you and Alphys are getting close. I had hoped that it would start to pull you out of your funk, but apparently not."  
Sans shrugs. **"i'm getting along with her. that's what you wanted me to do, right?"**  
"If you say so." Gaster replies, refusing to take the bait this time. He saw how much the two bought out in each other, and he was glad about it. It had been completely unexpected, but it made more sense the more he thought about it. It helped them both, he thought, that they had an unspoken common ground. Although it was plain to anyone with eyes or eye sockets that there was no romantic attachment, they were kindred spirits of a sort. They had enough differences to balance it out. He thought of the symbol that the humans were fond of, the white and black one who's name escaped him as he hadn't thought it important to remember, and thought it fitting. " That aside, I did actually come to speak to you about something. I've overheard Papyrus on the phone to you, and I have to ask. How long have you known about the problems with this Undyne?"  
 **"about a week after it started."** So it probably was connected. He'd have to have a word with Papyrus. Sans watches his face, and sees Gaster put the pieces together. **"don't you dare."**  
"Listening to him is not-"  
 **"it's the only thing i can do for him from in here, so i repeat: don't. you. dare."**  
"Sans... I know you want to make him feel better but you shouldn't be doing it if it's going to affect you so deeply."  
 **"and that's for me to decide. and besides... don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?"**  
"I do it because I worry, Sans, and it seems to be the only way I can find out anything."  
 **"look. i've kept my head down and i've played nice. i'm getting on with my work, i'm getting along with alphys. so, i'm going to say it one more time."** the pupils blank out, and Gaster has to supress a shudder. **"Don't you dare."**  
The moment is gone as fast as it was there, and Gaster sighs. And against his better judgement... "Fine. I won't say anything, but you need to work this out. Maybe even talk to Alphys, she might be able to help you."  
 **"you've been awful eager for us to hang out. don't tell me you hired me a friend."** Sans gives him a flat look.  
"Trust me, that wasn't the intention at all. But it's nice that you think of her that way. Maybe you should make more people cry."

There's a long pause, Gaster just sat with a smug smile. After a few beats, Sans can't help it. He throws a pillow at Gaster, and doubles over laughing. Ass. He'll get him back for that one.


	10. Chapter 10 - a weekend off

_Enjoy some hella fluff._

 _Warnings for the chapter juuust in case: Cursing, Recreational alcohol and drug use, Sans being Sans, non-romantic non-ship salphys fluff, non-explicit and non-sexual skeletal nudity. None of it should be bad enough or explicit enough to up the rating for this chapter._

* * *

 **"ugh, remind me why we're doing this again?"** Sans stretches his back out from where he's been hunched over a microscope for the last ten minutes  
"B-because Gaster c-couldn't find who p-paid M-Muffet 3000 gold for l-live spiders to f-follow him around in t-tap shoes for a m-month and th-then hacked into the system and snuck it it o-onto the lab expenses for this month… b-but he figured i-it was probably you." Alphys snickers and he starts laughing as she does.  
 **"that's slander. he can't prove a thing."  
** "W-well, it would be slander if y-you hadn't done it."  
 **"you wound me, al."** He smirks, putting a hand to his ribcage.  
"A-and I'm here b-because this c-could be a great scientific d-discovery. S-somehow." She looks pointedly at the blue flower glowing in the corner, not believing the words as she says them.  
 **"guilty by association, then?"  
** "...Next time get the n-number yourself." She pouts as she pokes the specimen of cave mushroom they are working on.  
 **"c'mon, it was worth it just for the week i started to convince him he had tinnitus even though he doesn't even have ears."** He waggles his brow bone at her, and that starts her snickering again. He vacates the seat and as she sits on it to take another look he sits on the empty work bench facing her.  
"C-can you at least t-try to focus?"  
 **"what's the point?"** He lays back on the workbench, effortlessly slotting between microscope and sample dishes, laying on top of papers and putting a hand to his skull overdramatically. Huh, it's almost like that's exactly where he put them for a reason. She shakes her head, fond and frustrated. **"alph. he's literally given us an assignment that he's not going to even look at the results for, and the only reason he's stuck us together is to see if we actually do it. he's as subtle as the luciferins we are trying to stimulate in the mushrooms and not even as much of a _fun guy_. hehe."  
**"Oh. My. God." Alphys pushes herself away from the work surface with a groan at the lame pun, too bad for even her tastes, and he looks up at her so very pleased with himself. "y-you have my undivided attention. B-but if it's help with another p-prank, I'm p-passing. Gaster's n-not happy a-and unlike you I want to b-be here."  
 **"actually, as fun as that sounds, no. for one, it's too soon, you gotta let these things die down so the next one is unexpected."  
** "Sans."  
 **"fine, i'll get to the point."** He rocks his legs forward and swings around using the momentum. Blue magic saves everything he knocks over from crashing to the floor and sets it back on the bench. **"sleepover?"  
** "I'm not- wait, wh-what?" Alphys hadn't expected that at all.  
 **"i'm really really bored, alph."  
** "Somehow, I hadn't n-noticed."  
 **"sarcasm's the lowest form of wit."  
** "I'll leave it t-to you then."  
 **"ouch." He grins. "but seriously, bring some of your anime and spend the weekend or something."  
** "I-I-I don't know… it's n-not that I d-don't want to, but…"  
 **"i'll talk to him. c'mon alph. save me."**

She sighs in defeat, and he knows he's won. He's already out of the room by the time she looks up to answer. "Fine, but- where did he- d-damn it Sans we're still- n-n-never mind." But she's smiling softly anyway. She has to admit, when he's excited about something, it's really infectious.

"No."  
 _ **"c'mon."  
**_ "No." Gaster goes to turn back to his work, and finds it missing. He sighs in irritation, knowing that it's going to be in his son's hand despite him being across the room. "You spent three thousand gold of the lab's money on tap dancing spiders, and now you want me to do you a favour?"  
 **"that's slander, you can't prove anything."  
** "It would be slander if it were untrue."  
 **"that's what alph said too."** He chuckles. **"you don't even know what i want yet."  
** "And nor do I care. Papers, now."  
 **"listen to me, then papers."  
** "Sans."  
 **"fine. i'll give them back, but then you listen."  
** Gaster gives a low growl of the anger his frustration is very close to slipping into. The papers get dropped into his open hands. "What. Do. You. Want?"  
 **"sleepover with alph."  
** "And again I say no. Now, leave me be."  
 **"c'mon, please! just the weekend, no watch shifts, a shitton of bad japanese cartoons and bad food. we'll leave you alone the whole time."  
** "What part of 'no' are you not understanding?"  
 **"dad."** That's the only word of argument and despite the quietness, it demands Gaster's full attention. Gaster hadn't realised how much he missed being called that by his eldest. **"she's the one person in this place that doesn't treat me like i'm going to either implode or explode at any possible moment. and heck, it was you who told me I should be trying to make friends here. i want to do something that's at least somewhat normal for people my age. so, please, please let us have this."**

He stares Sans down, trying to determine any hint of a lie or trickery.

"You'll have from six pm Friday until eight am Monday, at which time I expect you down to continue building the feedback system. You'll also have an allowance for you and her to spend on food and drink, not a gold more and definitely not embezzling the lab to be able to spend more-"  
 **"oh _hell_ yeah. thanks."** He scrambles out of the room, leaving Gaster blinking in his wake at the spot that he'd been standing in moments ago.  
"I wasn't finished… never mind." Despite himself, Gaster has to sigh fondly now he's alone in the room. It was good to see him happier, that was for sure, and his excitement was infectious when he rarely got excited about things. Maybe he should be a little softer on Alphys the next time she allows herself to be pulled into helping him with one of his pranks.

He turns back to his work with a renewed vigor. And a smile.

Alphys finally managed to reproduce the chemical reaction that gives off the blue glow in the echo flowers in the mushrooms and sits back with a sigh now that she has Sans working at full capacity and actually being helpful and getting the manual trigger for the reaction integrated. She knows that bioengineering is out of his interests but she can't help but marvel at the way he works once his mind is on a project. She wouldn't dare tell him that it's almost like watching Gaster himself work. There's a fifty percent chance either way that it'll be a compliment or an insult. But also, with more work comes more freaking mushroom puns. Even she's reaching her limit by 6pm Friday. Mind you, it had been a while since he'd been this genuinely excited, so she was able to bear through it. Mostly. And besides, she would be lying if she was to say that she hadn't been looking forward to it herself. She herself could count her friends on one hand - hers, not his with his extra digits and all. Not that she minded, at all - some of her best weekends have been pajamas and anime... But sometimes, even Alphys would have to admit that pajamas and anime was better with friends.

"You're leaving him unsupervised?" The team was being debriefed before being given an almost unheard of weekend off. And they don't seem happy. Gaster is starting to understand why this weekend sounded so important to his son.  
"No, Dr. Alphys is staying. By definition, he has supervision."  
"Tch, yeah." An older man speaks up, disapproval in every word so thick it might make them tangible and drip with it. "If anything happens, she's more likely to cower in the corner."  
"Or help. He's got her completely wrapped around his bony fingers." A female voice from the back of the room speaks up.  
"I think it'll be good for all of us to get a break. And yes, I mean him as well. His mood and his work output has been up like a bazillion percent this week." The longest serving team member speaks up from just in front. Good ol' Dan.  
Gaster just crossed his arms, radiating his stern presence as the phantom hands sign sharply, conveying his irritation as well as his tone. "All of your concerns are noted, and have subsequently been thrown out of the window. I don't believe I asked for a discussion on this. I believe I told you that you had this weekend off. As royal scientist, I know what's best, and if I'm wrong then that responsibility is on me. As his father, the same applies. You are all dismissed."  
The room is filled with unimpressed grumbling as everyone starts to file out, and he glared at the back of the heads of two staff members muttering something about taking bets not loud enough for him to catch the whole conversation as they walk out of the door. Everyone gone, he runs a hand over his skull wearily, before setting up the system to divert to his modified phone.

It's not that he doesn't trust Sans, Gaster tells himself, It's just a precaution. But, his instincts tell him everything will be fine, and he decides to trust them.

 **"did you bring the thing?"** Sans asks her, grinning.  
"Y-yes. Though I'm still c-confused as to why you s-said that instead of me bringing the bags themselves."  
 **"because i know you, and you have bought way too much stuff for just you to carry. and 'sides, i've been keeping something special to show ya but i don't know the underground outside of these four walls to show you without help."** She goes to take the map of the underground and the co-ordinates out of her pocket, but finds them already in his hand. She hadn't seen him move or felt him in her pocket.  
"When d-d-did- how d-did you-"  
 **"patience, my dear alphys. give me a minute."  
** "I knew I sh-should have loaned you Sherlock. I'm not your W-W-Watson." She grumbles good naturedly.  
 **"totally are."** He replies, not looking up. She narrows his eyes at him, and after a beat, snickers anyway. She's not sure how it happened, but it's true. After a couple of minutes, he looks up. **"and you definitely left it all there?"  
** "On the c-coordinates written, as r-requested."  
 **"awesome."** He's been practicing this little trick a hell of a lot, and he can do it as reflexively as breathing. It's just a shame he doesn't know the underground, or he would be out by now. Oh well, freaking out the staff by suddenly appearing from closets is great fun. A new upside to being stuck in here. He knows his father has figured out how to do it too, and is a lot less subtle about it, but Sans is certain Gaster doesn't think Sans has figured out how to do his whole person yet, or that he's even magically strong enough to do it. In fact, Sans has been very careful to not alert him to the fact that the opposite is true, and the alarm Alph had accidentally told him about doesn't seem to be much for details, just to alert them to high levels of magic in areas outside the practice rooms. He knows, he'd snuck in and looked.

With a wave of the hand, he opens a mid-sized shortcut, big enough for grocery bags. The wave is mostly for showboating purposes, and then he waits. Alphys just looks at him.  
"N-Nothing happened." She sounds almost disappointed. He winks at her, and reaches a hand in, feeling his fingers brush bag. He grabs it, and pulls it through.  
 **"tada!"  
** "Oh my-" she lights up, losing her words to the oncoming freak out. Sans makes it even better.  
 **"i'm not bringing it all in. too lazy for that."  
** "I c-can do it t-t-too?" She asks in a hushed whisper of awe, and he laughs  
 **"sure."**

(Gaster checks the phone's screen as the alarm sounds, and watches Sans show off for a few minutes with a chuckle, before closing his phone again.)

Alphys very tentatively reaches out her claws, and feels the bag handles brush against her fingers. She squeals, then grabs a few bags, Sans collecting the rest. "B-but how?"  
 **"science."** He winks again, and starts digging through the bags, letting the area of shortcut drop as he does. **"you've outdone yourself here, alph."** He pulls out an Italian style pizza, and holds it up. **"olive you."  
** She throws a box of animal crackers at him. "I will leave, n-no l-lion."  
Sans pauses, then doubles over laughing **"i'm so proud of you right now."** Alphys blushes and covers her face at the praise. The evening passes in a blur of snacks and laughter, and even the anime weren't that bad. Alphys had obviously catered to his love of science and sci-fi, and he silently thanks her for it. They start off fairly light and definitely more solidly in the humour section of things, and everything goes somewhat well. It's when they start on a series that deals with time travel and a more emotionally based plot that the beers are retrieved from the supplies, but he finds the plot completely enthralling. The series is long over by the time the beers he didn't remember asking for and Alphys denies buying run out, and they've veered into darker territory in the early hours of the morning.

Alphys has had a couple but isn't a really big drinker, which is how Sans ends up flushed on the cheekbones and leaning against her.  
 **"i don't know what is worse, keeping the kids in the facility or letting 'em out. it's not like they're doing it out of the kindness of their hearts for humanities' safety. somethin' weird is going on with shades guy."  
** Alphys snickers at his suspicions, already knowing that Sans is bang on the money even if he doesn't know it yet. There's a small part of her that wonders if Elfen Lied might have been an on the nose choice. Her current anime partner is too drunk to care right now. Maybe something lighter next, she decides.  
"It's kind of the p-point of the anime though."  
" **yep. a morality tale for the ages. if someone's evil, give 'em anmesia-** " yep, definitely too drunk to care right now, maybe this is the right time for mew mew, it's the most likely time he is going to agree to it **"-'n dump 'em with a stranger and hope they're real nice. We could fix the world with that solution. 'least we can try it with the humans if the barrier 'ventually breaks."** He snickers to himself at the thought, and she ends up laughing at the ridiculousness coming out of his mouth right now.  
"D-do you really think they're going to be evil? The h-humans, I mean."  
 **"maybe not evil. i really don't think anyone is all good or all bad, tibia honest. they're gonna be really mean though, more'n likely."  
** "Why?"  
" **everyone's told they're dangerous, so they've gotta be somewhat, right? and 'sides, have you seen the shit that comes through wherever the human stuff washes down from? gaster bought a skeleton into the lab one day when I was younger, 'n i cried for a week because it was nailed to a metal post and hung by a wire from the top of the skull to hold it upright. he finally told me it was plastic when he found me trying to convince one of the healers to plaster him back together after taking it apart and removing it from the post, the asshole."** He laughs though, finding the prank hilarious to look back on. **"'n then there was the time he fixed up all of Grillby's door with airhorns that someone gave him - i was real little at the time but 'sone of his favourite stories. i… oh. uh oh. oh no, oh god."  
** "What?"  
Sans shrinks into his hoodie, melting to the floor in drunken shame. **"i'm turning into my dad. alphys what do I do?"  
** She can't help but laugh, surprised by the two stories he's just given. "I didn't realise he was such a p-prankster."  
 **"'snot. well, not 'nymore. he used to be fun."** Sans climbs back onto the couch, leaning on Alphys again.  
"It's not like he's boring."  
 **"nah, just… work focused."  
** "Well, is that really a bad thing?"  
 **"Alph. Alphys Idontknowyourlastname, listen to me right now."** He speaks with the gravity of a drunk person about to reveal their perceived meaning of life. _And_ he capitalised. **"life is about fun, 'kay? Whether you've got all the work in the world, whether you have four walls or no walls, or you're stuck in a neverending nightmare of tests 'n shit until you're old 'nuff to work yourself to death around tests 'n shit, life is about fun. If you're not havin' fun, or makin' somebody else have fun, you'll fade away from view like a supernova in the sky that's becoming a black hole."  
** "...that's r-real heavy."  
 **"'s true"  
** "Is that what you're w-worried about?"  
His voice becomes sing-song and playful, the mood he's just established disappearing in an instant. **"you didn't buy enough beer to get me drunk enough to answer that question."  
** "How c-can you drink so much with such low st-stamina?" She laughs, especially as she has a light buzz going on the little that she's had.  
 **"'s not what you got but how you use it."** He winks at her.  
"...A-And that's me out. You should sleep." She shakes her head at him, settling herself down for sleep also. She hears him lay himself out flat. She wonders if he's passed out because he goes quiet for a while, but as she is literally just about to drift off-

 **"you know, procrastination is just flipping yourself off from the past."  
** "Oh my god, please don't start with that crap. Go to sleep, Sans."  
 **"i'm procrastinatin' sleep. morning me is goin' to be pissed."** He cracks himself up.  
"Morning me is going to be pissed at you too."  
 **"welp. g'night then."** It's literally moments later that she hears snoring.

And now she's thinking about the nature of procrastination and time management, and is thinking about it for hours before eventually drifting off. God damn it, Sans.

She finds out next day that he might actually be a sleeping champion. She thought she did well, sleeping through until late afternoon, but she has time to pop out and bring back more beer and some other snacks she thought he might like, and he's still crashed out; face down and snoring heavily.  
"How do… skeleton's snore, now I think about it?" She wonders aloud, the minute she's started speaking the snores peter out.  
 **"magic. that's a hell of a rabbit hole if you fall down it, alice."** every word is muffled by sleep and couch cushions.  
"... A-Alice?"  
 **"'curiouser and curiouser.' all that shit. my skull hurts... be kind to me and my lame references."  
** "Ha! That's why I d-don't drink a lot. The morning after is not worth it."  
 **"what fixes it?"  
** "N-now you're asking the hard questions. B-bought more for later if you think y-you can handle it. You've got another day to h-hang after what's left of today."  
 **"hang?"  
** "Hang out o-or be hung over. The meaning is entirely d-dependent on how much you drink t-tonight." She snickers.  
 **"or... I can fix it with more beer. 's what they do in the books and movies."  
** "That's f-fiction." She says, while he gestures a bottle to float to his hand and flicks the cap off with a bony thumb. "...and that's not even a screw top. G-geeze."  
 **"hey. one single weekend of almost complete freedom. what would you do?"  
** "...leave my pajamas on, watch anime, eat junk food and p-possibly have a drink if I felt like it at the time." She looks away from him, and he smirks.  
 **"i really feel like it."  
** "Fair point." she agrees easily. She makes up some bowls of ramen for both of them, instant kind with a boiled egg in each for instant yum.

If she was at home alone, she wouldn't have worried about the egg.

Dinner passes with easy conversation, today's main topics consisting of some stories of old pranks he had pulled on Alphys' request, ones from before her time. She puts some slice of life comedy on as background noise while they eat, but neither is paying attention to it. She's trying to read him for signs of what he'd mentioned last night, but it's nigh impossible between the skillfully woven stories and bouts of laughter from the both of them and she quickly gives up.

Somewhere along the line, Alphys decides tonight that she's going to flip off tomorrow's Alphys and join Sans in the quest to get as drunk as possible.

 **"you okay there, alph? you said earlier you're not much of a drinker."** He's drunk twice as much as her, and she giggles at the thought that he seems about half as drunk.  
"I'm amazing~!" She replies, sounding breathless and giddy. The TV has been all but forgotten at this point, but neither of them has even noticed. "You're cheating somehow, I know it." She points at him in mock accusation.  
He cracks up. **"ha! how do you cheat at drinking?"**  
"I dunno." She pokes his t-shirt in the space between his ribs and pelvis. "I think it's your magic not-stomach."  
 **"...possibly. haven't even thought about it."** He is very, very amused. **"though, if you really wanna think about these things, dad used to be a smoker at one point."  
** "Whaaaaaaat" Alphys looks shocked, then her brain starts drunkenly fumbling at the concept of skeleton's smoking. She breaks down into giggles again, which gets laughter from Sans.  
 **"yep. maybe that's why he gets so hot under the collar so easily."** Alphys laughs so hard she snorts a bit. He finishes his latest drink, and uses magic to grab another so he hasn't got to move.  
"Skeletons are weird."  
 **"never a truer word spoken."** He flicks the cap and toasts to that sentiment, chuckling to himself. The buzz is starting to firmly settle in again. **"hey al. while we're being young and stupid."  
** "Yes. Whatever it is, yes. You have the _best_ ideas."  
A small bag appears in his hand, with a small portion of dried green leaves that are shredded. A mostly empty packet of papers is also in the baggy.

"You live in a lab 24/7, how did you get that?" She asks in complete confusion.

 **"you have literally just watched me pull it from thin air."** He states with a laugh. **"but as it's been story time for about the last three hours…"** he starts rolling the leaves into the paper, inexperienced and inexpert, but well enough that it sticks once he gets Alphys to lick the paper's glue strip. The baggy disappears again, a lighter in his hand instead. Alphys watches with the wonder of a child watching a magic show. **"so, it's about three weeks before you started, and people are still coming in for the intern job. there's a weird cat guy who comes in smoking. as you can imagine, it went down as well as a concrete block in a tank of water with gaster."** As the flame flickers to life above the metal and he takes a drag, coughing and screwing his face up at the taste.  
"Why do you call him by his name so much?" Alphys asks as he passes it to her. She watches him intently, expecting smoke to come spewing from every gap in his bone structure, but it only comes from his nose and the gaps in his teeth. Well, she can still draw fanart of it looking cool as hell. She drags, spluttering as the smoke hits her lungs. She passes it back, and shakes her head before washing away the taste with more beer. That's enough of that one.  
He manages to only cough once on the second drag. **"because he's my boss and my doctor first."** He says simply, with quiet thoughtfulness. Then he snaps out of it, back to the story. **"anyway, before gaster can turn him out, i decide to show up. i was bent all out of shape that day, and making life as miserable as i could for him. hell knows why, i mean i know the doc knows why it keeps happening otherwise i am pretty sure he wouldn't put up with my shit like he does. but, anyway, gaster didn't like this guy so that meant i was pretty sure i probably would. i don't even remember what we talked about, but he was possibly the chilliest dude i have ever spoken to in my life. i asked him what his secret was. He pulled me into the most awkward and smelly hug I have ever had in my life, but he slipped me that. told me to call him if i ever needed the secret to the universe, too.** " Sans laughs at the absurdity of it all, and finishes up what he'd smoked while he'd been talking. **"i literally never saw the guy again. i don't think i want to, either, in all honesty. gaster had good taste in the end."  
** Alphys blushes and giggles at that. "She thinks he could do better a lot of the time."  
 **"then she's a fucking idiot."** He says bluntly, collapsing onto her, staring up at her from her lap. **"even though she's not really."**

Alphys goes the same colour as a lightbulb in a darkroom. "I-I d-d-don't kn-know what t-to s-say." She manages to stammer out as Sans drains his bottle.

 **"hey. you've barely stuttered at all, and not since you've been drunk."** He grins lazily, his cheekbones definitely showing the signs of his own alcohol consumption now. **"did I make you uncomfortable?"** He teases.  
"N-no... if n-no means m-maybe."  
 **"alph. c'mon. i'm serious like the plague right now. making you cry is possibly the best thing i've ever done."  
** She laughs hard. "You j-jerk."  
 **"but if i didn't make you cry, i wouldn't have come to apologize. then you would have just been another face in the crowd, instead of my bestest-"** he had raised his hand to pat her consolingly, but his pupils had suddenly gone wide and lost their definition, blurring out at the edges. They follow his hand as it leaves multi-colour trails behind it. **"whoa."**

She giggles helplessly as she watches him watching his hand, bringing the other up with it and making them make slow and hazy shapes. She can't stop giggling, and the feeling in her chest is like her heart is racing with excitement.

 **"no wonder he's so chill if he sees the world in rainbow. i fucking _love_ rainbows, man. i wish we weren't underground, the first thing i would do is find a rainbow."  
**"W-we could make one."  
 **"'snot the same. they're supposed to be made by refraction, reflection and dispersion of light in the sky from the _sun_ , and i respect that. you know what else i respect? space. the sky and everything above it is amazing."  
**She giggles at his rambling. "you haven't seen the r-r-real sky yet."  
 **"doesn't mean you can't respect it. that's like… like… what was I saying?"  
** "I. Have no idea." They both break down into giggles this time.

"We have snacks, right?"  
 **"al. you asked the same thing ten minutes ago."  
** "I also asked you to move ten minutes ago to get the snacks. You told me to wait while you finished that "  
 **"hehehe oh yeah. wait, i got this. hands free delivery service, watch."  
** "...Sans, the snacks need to be down here with us so we can eat them."  
 **"or…"  
** "Sans! Hahaha, no Sans, not while you're- oh god, put me down! I'm not eating these up here! …. That didn't mean drop the snacks and not me, damn it!"  
 **"hey alph… why are you hanging around up there if you want snacks? c'mon, are you high right now or somethin'?"  
** "Oh. My. God."  
 **"you're laughing, that means i'm off the hook!"**

"How did we manage to eat all the food?"  
 **"there's got to be something left!"** Sans climbs in the fridge trying to find something else. He's removed the shelves already. When did he do that?  
"I'm so hungry I might actually starve." Alphys whines.  
 **"hey, at least we'll match."  
** "What?"  
His head pokes out of the fridge. **"when you're skin and bone."  
** "Hahahaha hahaha, oh my go- wait. Why are you in the fridge?"  
 **"just… thought i would chill out."  
** They both nearly pass out from laughing, and Alphys gasps out "that's not making me less hungry!"

"How the hell did you get up there?"  
 **"i don't know but get me down."  
** "...Wait, when did we leave his room? And why is he naked?!"  
 **"alph, you're not thinking in your head."  
** "Oh. Oops."  
 **"and the answer to all of the above is i don't know."** They both start laughing so hard neither can breathe.  
"It answers the question of 'how high are you right now' though!"  
 **"that's not helping!"** He snorts through laughter.  
"Just get down the same way you got up!"  
 **"i told you i don't know."** He whines, clinging to the top of the lab machine like his life depends on it. And it actually might, 1 hp is not enough to survive that fall. Alphys breaks down into laughter again.  
"I know that's the truth, because I can see right through you!" She cries, tears streaming from laughter.  
Which sets him off again. **"i would be so proud of you right now, if i wasn't trying not to die."  
** "You can do both. You're a smart guy."  
 **"that's true!"** He agrees, flushing deeply at the praise and the amount of intoxicants in his system. **"i don't know if that's all me though."  
** "W-what do you mean?" Her voice echoes around the empty hall.  
 **"well, gaster thinks i was too young to remember, but when me and pap arrived here, he saved my life. that's why he's got the holes in his hands and face."  
** "Why… would that give him… hands in his holes? Shit, holes in his hands, I mean."  
 **"magical cellular transfer. he gave up a portion of hismagic to save my life. it's why i'm so broken, probably. he looks it on the outside and i feel it on the inside."  
** "No, Sans. Get introspective when you are down from there. If you cry, you're going to fall. And then I'll cry because I suck at catching and you'll be dust."  
 **"geeze, thanks for the vote of confidence."  
** "You're the idiot that got yourself stuck."  
 **"i can't get stuck anywhere, i can- _oh_. i think i just figured out how i got up here. naked is still a question mark though."**

She facepalms hard enough that it stings, even with the alcohol and passive high. "That might… leave a mark in the morning. Ouch."

 **"you can take your head out of your hand now."** His voice comes from right next to her, and she nearly jumps out of her skin.  
"How did you- fuck it, I don't want to know. Let's go back to the food."  
 **"...and that answers why we left the room. onwards!"** He runs off, and Alphys runs after him with little hope of keeping pace. He's stupidly fast. She wonders if his short size and lack of flesh makes him more aerodynamic.

"I'm telling you, bone plane would be the best and fastest plane. Short and with nothing to weight it down, it could fly forever!"  
Sans doesn't even look up from the mini fridge in the staff room, dropping things into a portal that he's 67 percent sure is linked above his couch. **"alph, i love the enthusiasm, but... HOW WOULD IT FLY? the wings need ...stuff… to make the airfoil shape on the wings."  
** "Oh. Crap."  
 **"yeah. in other news, this is the last floor so that's the last lot of food. we should head back."  
** "Awww, don't wanna walk."  
 **"hmm…. me either. c'mon."** He grabs her hand and pulls her through a shortcut, just knowing that's going to be blaring alarms all over the place. Good thing they're alone.

(Gaster is roused from sleep by the alarms. He ignores it for the third time, having last actually checked it an hour ago, and every time before that when it went off. He was going to have to speak to Sans about the amount of magic he was using by being lazy and grabbing things without moving. or even moving them to him. For now, he just decides to turn his phone off and finally get some damned sleep.)

 **"alph. alph wake up."** He nudges her, and she rolls off of the couch. She wakes with a startled shriek as she hits the floor.  
"Why? And how have you not crashed yet?"  
 **"eat something. it'll wake you back up. monster food is amazing, pure magical energy you know. everything tastes so good right now too."** She hears the flick of a lighter, even as food lands next to her lap. She's pretty sure he was aiming for in her lap. And sure enough- **"i miss you, alph… but my aim'll get better."  
** She laughs at him, starting to shove food in her face. Oh god, it really does taste amazing right now. It feels amazing in her mouth. Everything is amazing.

 **"everything is shit."** She blinks, confused as to how they jumped from amazing to Sans flopped across her lap - still naked, she might add - frustration in every layer of his voice and claiming everything is terrible.  
"How did we… what happened?"  
 **"jesus, al. we ran out of food. again. and we're sharing the last beer."** She looks at the cold thing in her hand, and passes it to him. He drains it, and belches. **" _were_ sharing the last beer."  
**"I could just got the store again tomorrow."  
 **"we could do it tonight!"**  
"Not a good idea."  
 **"fine."** he sighs again, and pushes his feet out against the arm of the couch, which slides him on her lap like a lazy cat. She feels a gentle shudder go through his frame. **"oh my god, your jammies feel so good on my bones. so fluffy."** He creases and uncreases himself on her lap like some sort of weird and boney concertina, unaware that the rubbing is making heat and blood rise to his friend's face.  
"P-please stop that." She whispers shakily. The tone catches him off guard, making him pause mid-stretch. He looks up and she buries her face in her hands, trying to hide her shame.  
 **"oh."** He slides off of her, ever observant. **"sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."  
** "N-no, it's…f-fine." she flushes again. "Let's t-talk about something else. Please?"  
 **"do... you want me to… go put… something on?"  
** "No, you don't have to."  
 **"...o…k?"** He looks at her, puzzled, trying to think through a haze of drunk and high. The come down that had been slowly creeping into his mood threatens to hit him full force, so he decides to sit on the floor and grab him the last of the relaxation that his furry little cat-man angel had imparted onto him. He rolls quickly, having got the hang of it before the last one he made. Enough for one left afterwards. He wonders idly if he can ever get that guy's number, but also knows that sober him is probably going to thoroughly regret tonight and never bother. **"c'mon sober sans, do a brother a favour."** He mutters to himself.  
"Really?" He hears the question from above him, somewhere solidly between amusement and disapproval.  
 **"what?"  
** "You get any higher and it'll be the ceiling I am peeling you from, not the lab equipment."  
 **"you peeled me from nothing, if i remember correctly."** He lights up, the smoke soothes his soul and pushes the downer out on the exhale.  
"How did you get down?"  
 **"the same way i got up, just like you said."** he grins hazily at her. Well, the ceiling, which has decided to oh-so-slowly start spinning. It looks cool as fuck.  
"And?" Alphys' colour is returning to normal.  
He shrugs. **"i remembered i could teleport."  
** "How do you forget you ca- whaaaaaat?" She looks over the edge of the couch to where he has laid himself down on the floor.  
 **"hehe, peek-a-boo."** He giggles lazily.  
"Sans, focus. You can what now?"  
 **"pfffft, i forgot what i was saying." He blows her question away on his next exhale, giggling again. "you feeling better now alph?"  
** "Yeah."  
 **"cool. the fuck wazzat?"  
** "What?" she has to giggle at the definite slur in his words. He sounds hilarious right now.  
 **"you looked like you were about to keel over."  
** "I… uhh… everything feels really good right now. Everything."

It takes him a lot longer than it might normally, but it clicks eventually. **"oh. you know, i have no idea if-"**

"No!" She squeals in embarrassment, cutting him off. "I don't… think of you like that."  
 **"oh. fair enough." He shrugs. The smoke is doing it's job, and it doesn't cut him like it might have otherwise done. "i'm really bad at not taking things to heart, alph."  
** "I've noticed. I'm sorry. I love you with all my heart, but completely platonically."  
 **"please sound more patronising."** The comfortable bubble he's in makes him giggle though, bursting the sad thoughts before they can root and filling him with synthetic amusement. Shit, his life is terrible and that fact alone at the moment is hilarious.  
Alphys joins him on the floor, laying back and settling her shoulders under his armpit so there's no gap between them, and he laughs for a while longer.

 _ **man, the stars look amazing.** _He reaches a hand up towards his bedroom ceiling, trying to touch them. They are as out of reach as the real thing. Holy crap, that was deep. He should write that down somewhere. Alphys is laid on top of him, her back against his chest and looking up at his ceiling too. The fairy lights twinkle at them.  
"They really do look amazing right now, this was a great suggestion." She sighs contentedly.  
 **"gaster put it in when they rebuilt."  
** "Rebuilt?"  
 **"you've heard the story."** Wait, if she's on top of him, did they- no, she still has clothes. Good.  
"Oh." She goes quiet, then speaks up again. "Sans … can you tell me the story?"  
 **"why?"  
** "I've never heard it from your point of view, you know?"  
 **"there's not much to tell on my end."  
** "What do you mean?"  
"i don't remember it. i remember going into the bathroom, trying to to stop crying. i wanted to go home. i'd been here five damned years, and i was tired of being patient. i spoke to my night attendant, but little me realised that you don't get friends in here. apparently i snapped and started to tear the building down, but i don't remember any of that after going to the bathroom. Hell, it was three years after the fact that I could willingly muster an attack without being shot at first."  
"Oh… that's why you told me you didn't want my name. Is that right?"  
 **"yep."**  
"What changed your mind?"  
 **"gaster calling me out on my bullshit."  
** "Oh."  
 **"yep."  
** "...It's... weird. He does so much for you, but so little at the same time. I mean, you really don't help, but sometimes I wanna grab him and shake him and tell at him to pick a lane and stay in it."  
 **"eh, it's probably all my fault somehow."** he shrugs with a chuckle.  
"Has he told you that?"  
 **"never. doesn't mean he doesn't think it."  
** "Because you think it doesn't mean he does." She sighs softly. "And you're wrong."  
"What… do you mean?"

"Sans! Where the h-hell did you go?" He can hear her voice echoing around the empty lab. He's in his thinking place, the gap between the generator and the corner of the room. he'd purposely left that corner here when he rebuilt the old girl. But how did he get here. Why was he here? "I-I'm sorry! N-now please, come out!"  
The hum of the generator did nothing to soothe him in this moment. He rests his forehead on his kneecaps. Every urge at him is screams to stay quiet, so he must be… hiding? Did they argue? His cheekbones feel damp, so maybe…?

The human of the machine buzzes through his skull in the most important ways; keeping his mind full and thoughts away.

Why was he feeling upset right now? Fuck it, doesn't matter. what happens while blackout drunk doesn't count. He shifts out from behind the machinery, And scoots himself to the middle of the room, and crosses his legs, before-  
 **"polo!"**  
Footsteps turn into a run somewhere close by. "Marco?"  
He debates cheating, and laughs at the idea. **"polo."**  
There's another longish pause, then he hears the door in the room the generator room backs onto. "M-marco?"

 **"polo."**

He hears her sigh with relief, and the door seperating them opens. She hesitantly hangs in the door, also looking like she's been crying.

"Sans? I'm really sorry. I-I-I don't know what I was thinking."  
 **"'sall good. too buzzed for secrets and lies this weekend." He grins at her. "Besides, you're forgiven anyway because I can't remember what the hell we were talking about so there's no point in being sad and mopey about it."  
** "...r-really?"  
 **"yep!"** He extends his arms and stretches out his legs. **"c'mon buddy."  
** She all but dives in for the forgiveness hug. "I k-kinda wish you were this tactile all the time." She mumbles as she rests her chin on his clavicle. She has to wonder how the clothes look so filled… he's definitely just a skeleton. "Somehow you give amazing hugs. Especially for a naked skeleton. Why are you naked again?"  
 **"they're like magic. all about the intent."** He wraps around her, and links his hands up and knot his feet together. She suddenly realises what has happened. **"and I still have no idea."  
** "No, Sans, please."  
 **"this can be your punishment for … whatever happened. i only come here when i'm real upset, so you probably owe me this."** they're pretty much the same size, but he's so light that alphys can't help but marvel at it.  
"God- fine, fine." She stands, and manoeuvres the little bony sloth to her back so she can at least walk properly. He's knotted himself around her enough that he's well clear of the floor despite them not having that much of a height difference. "But surely it doesn't count if you don't remember what you're upset over."  
 **"hmmm… if a tree falls over and no one's there to hear it, does it still makes sound?"  
** "That's… n-not even m-mildly related. And ph-philosophising while in your state is probably the worst thing you can do."  
He laughs low and dopey in her ear, and she feels her anxiousness melt away somewhat.  
 **"'kay then, if a tree falls over and no-one's there to find it, is it still fallen over?"  
** "Yes."  
 **"'xactly."  
** "...oh. sorry."  
 **"and the answer to the last question is also yes, the impact would still produce soundwaves. now... if it fell over in a vacuum, that would make the answer no. the always correct answer is always that philophisists are stupid."  
** She laughs, and is glad he seems to be feeling better. "Philosophists. And that's pretty _sound_ logic."  
He laughs so hard she has to adjust her grip in case she drops him. **"'m such a good influence."  
** "I'm drunk as a damned skunk, I would say the opposite is t-true."  
 **"hey, hey, hey. incorrect. today you started drinkin' of your own choice."  
** "Yesterday."  
 **"what?"  
** "We've been at this for…" she pulls her phone out, and shows him the time. "Like, 18 hours. We have work in 24."  
He stares at the time over her shoulder. **"twenty three hours and thirty four minutes."  
** "Oh my god."  
 **"i like time. and space." She feels him relax against her. "quantum mechanics is interesting. and useful once you know what you wanna do with it."**

She shifts her grip again as he gestures vaguely with a hand. "Don't let go, I'm so short I'll dro-" the world feels like it's dropping around them, tilting and lurching all of a sudden - similar to what happened when she had found herself at the other end of the blackout that found Sans a hundred foot off the ground but less… permanent? She wasn't sure how to describe it, but as she's thinking about it, she crashes into a wall. "Ow, what just happened?"  
Sans, who apparently let himself drop before impact, is rolling on the floor laughing. **"sorry. i aimed high, and i missed it."** He starts laughing harder. And suddenly stops because the inevitable crash, from using and not keeping track of his magic, and drunken stupor has set in where he no longer has the helpful magical energies from the bulk of the food, and he just passes right the fuck out then and rubs her nose, debating on leaving him where he is, but decides to put him on the couch anyway because she's a great friend. Wait. couch? Her head flicks left and right, confused as hell. They hadn't even taken the elevator, how were they back in the room already?

"...I'm way too drunk for this."

She retrieves and dumps Sans on the couch, then settles for the floor. As she lays down, a bony hand wraps around her wrist.  
"z'nufr'm." The words he is trying for all blur in as he doesn't even wake to say them. But she gets what he's trying for, andshe shifts him enough that she can get on the couch behind him with her back to the back of it, and he sighs contentedly as he curls into her chest. Oh. My. God. She feels a fluster rising through her cheeks, and does her best to ignore it. _He's so tiny. And cute! Really cute. But not in a hot way. He's one of the few people I haven't found hot. Oh stars, am I a racist? No, because Dr. Gaster is definitely hot, just his son that doesn't… float my bone-plane. Hahahaha, that's hilarious, need to tell Sans when he's awake. Or not, he might be offended. It's hard to tell sometimes. At least he was pretty happy this weekend, until I stuck my foot in it. Mind you, he didn't seem all that bothered once I had found him. Thank heavens for blackout drunk? Well, no, because that's how he nearly ended up stuck on top of the equipment, and Doctor Gaster would have been pissed if we hand's the for him down. How did he get down? I can't remember what he was saying about it. Did he fall? Oh god, what if he hadn't been able to get down? Oh god, oh god, Doctor Gaster would have stepped in over us being friends. He might have me change teams! I sure as hell won't be able to do this again with him. I could lose my friend or my job. Or both. Then I won't have a future and never move out of my stupid box apartment in the capital which is way too crowded and everyone will hate me and Sans will hate me and I won't be able to- won't be able to- Oh god, oh god, oh god-_

Bony hands on her face pull her out of her internal ramblings, she can feel herself curled up sat upright and struggling to breath. She's soaked with sweat. Concern is in wavering pupils, looking very very tired as if he's barely able to hold himself up and awake, but looking 300 percent more sober. **"deep breaths. in, 1,2,3,4,5, out. ride it out, it'll pass. c'mon Al, 'snot the first."  
** He keeps reassuring her in a low voice, and she finds herself focusing on the sound of it slowly, following the advice and the counts. It's only a couple of minutes - far from the worst - and it leaves her feeling drained and empty, ready to sleep. He pushes her down to her side again, laying her down, and she feels her eyes drifting closed. Despite the fact he's all bone, he registers as warm against her when he settles himself back in.  
 **"good?"  
** "I-I think so. Thanks."  
She feels him shrug, and considering he'd managed to drag himself out of a crash sleep to help her, she's half-impressed that he's still awake enough to do so now he's laid back down. His voice is heavy with exhaustion as he mumbles **"need to talk 'bout it?"  
** "Later. You're g-going to p-pass out again."  
 **"i'll be fii-"** he yawns, and she shakes her head fondly. **"fine for a little bit longer."  
** "I'm t-tired too."  
 **"oh. okay. in the morning then."** And he drops out like a light. The slow rhythm of his breathing soothes her into her own sleep.

They both awaken in the late evening, and both are very sore in the head, and Alphys thinks she might puke if she moves. Sans rubs a hand over his itchy eyesockets as his head pounds to the beat of it's own invisible drum.  
 **"ugh, what happened?"**  
"It's k-kind of hazy." She replies without moving.  
 **"i remember food. a lot of food."** Alphys' stomach flips over on itself at the mention of food. She groans, and a trashcan is moved beside her head as Sans sits up. **"why the hell am I naked?"  
** "I r-r-remember asking that a l-lot last night." She bends over, resting her head on the cool rim of the trash can. "I d-don't think I actually got an answer. I d-don't think you knew, t-t-to be honest."  
He groans, before heaving himself up to make coffee. He opens the fridge to grab milk, and freezes.  
 **"uh, al?"  
** "Mmmmrrrn"  
 **"any idea where the milk is? the fridge is literally empty."  
** "I don't want milk, I just wanna die." She groans.  
 **"coffee should help with that."** He states, looking around the kitchen area puzzled as the beverage filters down into the pot noisily. Then the true extent of the mess that was his living area sinks in. **"he's gonna kill me."  
** "Us. He's g-gonna k-kill us. I helped make the mess, I'm taking half the blame."  
 **"that's real sweet, alph, but don't get yourself in trouble."  
** "B-besides, we can clean it up."  
 **"if you think he's not going to watch two days of footage, you're either more optimistic then I gave you credit for or stupider. and I still can't find the milk."** The words are softened by the cup of black coffee he presses into her claws. She drinks it regardless of milk, feeling the caffeine wake up all her nerve endings like a kick to her brain. **"speaking of optimism, or a lack there-of, you feeling better this morning?"  
** "Oh, I'd kind of forgotten… yeah, thanks. You really helped last night."  
"no worries. and hey, if you need to talk? we've both lost the right to judge one another this weekend." He chuckles, the few bits that either of them can remember backing the words. **"the lab is now officially a neutral zone… well, this bit."  
** "Yeah, that actually makes me feel a bit better." She pulls her feet and tail up onto the couch, claws wrapping around the hot cup. "It was silly, really."  
 **"neutral zone, remember."** He nudges her with a shoulder.  
She smiles, which turns into a chuckle as she realizes she was nudged with bare bone. "Does that count for you still being naked?"  
 **"oh, sh- you know what? yeah. serious sans the naked skelly is taking your call. how can I help?"  
** She snorts into her cup, feeling three thousand times better than half an hour ago. "If naked sans is serious sans, can we hire him in the lab instead?" She smirks at him.  
 **"no, you'd miss the skelepun you work with."  
** She chokes on her mouthful as she does a small spit take. "Oh my God."

But he's not wrong.

They talk over Alphys' worries, Sans finally gets less naked, and they decide that Alphys is going to go get food while Sans tidies. This is fine by him, he just sits on the couch and puts on stein's gate to watch again while lazily using blue magic to drift the debris into the trash can and put the shelves back in the fridge. She's still out when he hears the lined phone in his room ring. Damn, he really should speak to Gaster about getting a cell so he doesn't have to get up to answer the thing. He hits pause, and wanders into his room. Expecting it to be Alphys calling asking about something she's not sure if she should buy, he answers with:  
 **"skelepun hotline, talk fast because i'm in the middle of a book of anti-gravity and i can't put it down."** Then the sound of a familiar joke-related aneurysm happening, and it's like music to his ears. He feels himself grinning. **"hey pap."  
** "THIS IS THE LAST TIME I CALL YOU IF YOU'RE GOING TO START FROM THE MOMENT YOU PICK UP."  
Sans laughs. **"don't worry, i thought you were alph."**  
"I THOUGHT SHE WAS STAYING WITH YOU."  
"we ran out of food."  
"OF COURSE YOU DID." Papyrus sighs. "I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO BE AS WELL PREPARED AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD BE IF I HAD FRIENDS AROUND TO SLEEP OVER. OR IF I HAD… FRIENDS AT ALL."  
 **"aw, c'mon bro, it'll happen."** Sans reassures him as he sits down on the edge of his bed. **"people are just too intimidated by how awesome you are, i keep telling ya."** Papyrus just hmmms disbelievingly, which make Sans sigh softly. **"you're still having trouble, huh?"  
** "NO." The break in his voice betrays the lie.  
 **"what happened?"  
** "WELL… NO, YOU'RE HAVING A FUN WEEKEND WITH YOUR FRIEND WATCHING BABY CARTOONS. TELL ME ABOUT THAT."  
 **"trust me, you don't want to go showing babies the stuff we watched this weekend."** He willingly takes the bait Papyrus dangles in front of him. He knows his brother, and knows that when he's ready he'll talk to him. God help whoever this undyne chick is if it's her again. **"but we didn't really do all that much watching in the end."  
** "OH HO?!" Oh. Shit. He just heard that tone.  
 **"papyrus, no!"  
** "THE GREAT PAPYRUS, YES! DID YOU FINALLY CONFESS YOUR FEELINGS FOR HER AND BATHE HER IN A SHOWER OF KISSES AND… WHATEVER ELSE PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY LOVE ONE ANOTHER?"  
 **"pap, no!"** He bangs his head on the side table, too hung over and too hungry for this. **"even if it was like that, which it's not, she doesn't feel that way-"  
** "ARE YOU SURE? EVEN WITH YOUR PUNS, YOU ARE… VERY GREAT. NOT AS GREAT AS ME, OF COURSE, BUT YOU COULD BE IF YOU STOPPED BEING A BONEHEAD."  
 **"-and even if she did"** he continues as if papyrus hadn't spoken, but feeling himself grinning hard at the praise. **"i love her like i love you."  
** "OH." it takes Papyrus a moment to process this. Sans starts to worry he might have hurt Papyrus' feelings by comparing her to a little sister, but then the ever optimistic skeleton replies ecstatically "OH! THAT'S VERY GOOD NEWS! IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU MADE A FRIEND! AND EVEN BETTER THAT YOU'VE MADE A SISTER-FRIEND! I'M VERY HAPPY FOR YOU!"  
 **"...thanks pap."** He's pleased and relieved that Papyrus approves.  
"ESPECIALLY AS YOU MADE HER CRY."  
 **"of course he told you about that."** He has to laugh, though.  
"MAYBE THAT'S WHERE I AM GOING WRONG! HOW CAN I MAKE UNDYNE CRY?" That just makes Sans laugh harder. "WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? SANS!"  
 **"bro, that's a terrible idea. but i'll make her cry for you if you bring her to visit, if you really want."  
** "OKAY... I THINK I GET IT. THE SECRET IS TO MAKE _YOU_ MAKE THEM CRY! THEN I CAN BE THERE TO DRY HER TEARS…? THAT SOUNDS LIKE… A FANTASTIC IDEA! AS SOON AS I CAN CONVINCE HER, I WILL LET YOU KNOW! GOOD BYE, BROTHER, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR SISTER-FRIEND!" He's met with the dial tone, and Sans has to marvel at what the hell just happened. He shakes his head fondly, and hangs the phone back on it's hook. He turns, and sees Alphys stood in the door, shaking with silent laughter.

 **"yeah, yeah, laugh it up."**

They're sat with a plate of green and leafy crap but Sans is eating it, if somewhat reluctantly. Alphys looks just as reluctant, but she had mumbled something about a vitamin boost. She was right, they probably needed something at least a little healthy after the weekend.  
"S-sister-friend, huh?" She grins, blushing.  
 **"uhh…"** he feels a metaphorical spotlight shine down on him awkwardly. **"how long were you stood there?"  
** "I came in around the t-time that you threatened to beat up a teenager." She sniggers.  
"I never threatened that." He says with a too-sweet grin.  
"Sorry. To m-make her cry, then." She replies with laugh.  
 **"his plan is infallible."** Sans snickers. **"except for everything about it. and besides, she's apparently older than him."  
** "B-but younger than you."  
 **"your point?"  
** "I haven't got one, I was just m-m-making sure." She shrugs easily, before chewing and swallowing another mouthful. "He's-"  
 **"-utterly clueless?"  
** "Sweet, is what I was actually g-going to say."  
 **"you should hang with us next time he comes in."  
** "I d-don't want to intrude." She says, putting her plate aside. "I know how much your time with him means to you."  
 **"well, you're welcome if you want to."  
** "Thanks." She smiles at the offer. Then she notices what is on pause on the TV. "I had a feeling you would like that one e-especially."  
 **"yeah, it's… strange... speaks to me in a way, i guess."** He shrugs, and hits play. Nothing else to say between them, they settle on the couch, leafy meals completely forgotten as they settle in to watch again. The hours pass quickly, and soon it's time for bed. This time, Sans insists on Alphys taking the bed and him the couch, taking up as much space as possible on it. She shakes her head at him, and acquiesces with a teasing rib about how snuggly he is much to his embarrassment.

Monday morning rolls around, and they both shower and set to work with identically light souls and happy grins on their seperate projects. Gaster's got his own grin as he watches them stroll in and part ways. Until he watches back the video feeds, of course. Then he's just laughing his ass off most of the time, reminded of himself during his college years. Maybe he should give Grillby a call not work related at some point. Or at all, seeing as how they've lost touch since he moved him and Papyrus to the capital.

He should definitely do that.


	11. Chapter 11 - A more comfortable routine

Looking back on it, Sans also knew the exact moment his life started turning to shit. Now it's been many more years of machines and tests than without them, trying to unlock how and why he's different. The core had taken a lot longer than expected, but mind you he'd spent a fair amount of time where he'd gone out of his way to be unhelpful. That or unforeseen incidents setting back progress. He still saw papyrus regularly, which helped him soothe his nerves somewhat, but he'd quickly gone from the lab being an exciting treat to hating it there. Very quickly. Life wasn't too hard, really, he lived here less like a prisoner and more like a permanent hospital patient. And there was Alph, and thinking about her as he stood waiting for his moment almost made him change his mind. He would just have to hope she would understand. No, the real problem had always been his father being away long enough or him leaving cams unattended long enough for him to get out - especially after he had moved to the capital. But… something had gone wrong and everyone had been called for an impromptu emergency meeting under the sound of alarms and sensing his moment after years of patience, he... pretty much just strolled out through one of his shortcuts while everyone was distracted.

But where to go? Retrospective moment over, he refocuses. He had poured over the map he'd kept of Alphys' trying to memorise the layout of all the places he'd only heard about, and even this was risky. He go home, because they didn't live there anymore and he needed some… time _away_ from his father. He realised with a sad twisting in his soul that by proxy that meant he couldn't see Papyrus either, but he also knew that if _anyone_ was likely to blow his cover, it would be Pap. Nor could he trust any of his dad's followers for help, as he'd dubbed the assistants. They admired and clung onto him too hard, he'd be dropped in it in a second. The hood on his hoodie comes up as he steps onto the street. Maybe he could ask Asgore for help? He knew he and his father were close, but he was also a complete softy and he was pretty sure he wouldn't have known about the tests. _Which also brings up the question… what had dad told people about why he was suddenly one son short?_ He didn't think his dad was so stupid he wouldn't have said anything, but it would be good if he knew what had been said so he knew what he would be up against if he _did_ run into any questions from anyone.

Asgore was probably his best bet for now. Him or… _of course_.

It's not long before he steps into the bar, as warm as he remembered it to be. He's kind of grateful for that, pink slippers feeling soggy from the snow. He quietly makes his way through the busy and chatting crowd towards the bar, and sits on the bar stool whilst keeping his hood up and head down. The living flame comes across to take his order and he sticks his hand in his pocket to take out- he left without any gold. Well, anything he'd bought had been stuck on the expenses form whether his dad was aware or not. _Shit._ He goes to leave, but a glass of milk and plate of fries appears before him anyway.  
 **"i… uhh… i haven't…"  
** "You look hungry… start a tab." Grillby replies.  
The duck near the bar starts to translate and Sans holds up a hand. **"got it, thanks."  
** He's got half a mind to turn and leave, but his hunger demands he stays and eats where he'd left so suddenly and hadn't had time to think about things like that… so he stays and eats. A small stream of food and drink keep him here until the place is empty, and Sans hadn't even noticed how late it was getting until the place fell quiet. The door softly locked, and panicked mode engaged.  
 **"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have… i'll pay you back… i should be going-"  
** "Sans." Of course Grillby knew who he was the whole time. If he had a stomach, it would have just bottomed out from a mix of relief and panic intermingling.  
 **"…you didn't tell him i was here, did you? gaster, i mean."  
** "I haven't seen him since he moved with Papyrus to go to the capital to be closer to you." Sans has to chuckle at that, and it's humourless. If he had eyebrows, Grillby would raise one. "...that _is_ why he moved? You've been sick for a long time."  
 _So that's what he's been saying is it?  
_ **"well, i do feel pretty _bone_ tired."** Grillby gives a quiet chuckle at that, and it cheers Sans up somewhat. **"but… i haven't... i mean, i'm feeling better."  
** "And you're here?"  
 **"eh, i needed some time out."  
** "Let me rephrase my question. Sans. Why did you come here looking exhausted and hungry and all but panic when you thought I might have told your father you were here?"

He pauses, wondering how to actually answer that question. He decides to go for as truthful as he can bear without going into details. Besides, as much as he hates going through all the tests, Gaster's still his father and he doesn't really want him to get into any trouble. **"i've been inside a long time, ...recovering, and i'm not going to turn to dust having a few days out. he might want to take me back with him soon as he finds out I checked myself out. you know yourself what a _bonehead_ he can be."  
**Grillby chuckles, although he's not sounding convinced. "There's a bed in the spare room if you want it. Fuku's in hotlands studying so you shouldn't be bothered."  
 **"...thanks, grillbz."** He smiles, feeling a little bad about not telling the whole truth. He'll stay a day or two, and move on. He doesn't want to take advantage of the good will.

So, naturally, Grillby somehow managed to convince him to still be in the apartment above the bar three weeks later. They fell into a comfortable routine quickly and after the fourth day, Sans had taken to helping before hours and cleaning up after everyone had left so he was at least pulling his weight. He supposed Grillby enjoyed it partially because it was almost like when he and paps used to visit regularly, and partially because it meant he had some company after Fuku had left him in an empty house around the bar being open. It was weird though, he had expected at least some questions being asked around by people to see where he was by now. Hmm.  
"I brought a bottle up after I finished cleaning."  
 **"what? oh, sorry. i lost track of time."** He drags his eyes away from the window. **"how boned am I right now?"  
** Grillby offers a small laugh. "Well, considering that you were the one who insisted, I think I can let you take a night off." He comes and sits by him on the unmade bed, handing him the bottle of scotch that looks… red? Sans shoots him a questioning look. Grillby shrugs. "Pre-mixed. You think I don't notice the scotch going missing when you're having a bad night when you've only asked for the ketchup?"  
Sans flushes as much as a skeleton can, rubbing the back of his head in shame. **"uhh… sorry."  
** "It's already on the tab." Grillby nudges him, and they both share a chuckle.  
 **"so what makes you think i'm having a bad night?"** He asks, taking a few long swallows.  
"The fact that since you woke up this afternoon, I haven't seen anything of you. Usually a good indicator."  
 **"hehe, no pulling the wool over your fry-s is there?"** He grins.  
"No smoke without fire, Sans." Sans laughs. "You know me. I'm not going to push it, but I'm here if you want an ear."  
 **"you don't have ears."  
** "Nor do you." He takes the offered bottle, and dubiously sips it. He hands it back, glad he lacks facial expressions. "I'll… let you finish that off."

Grillby's said what he needs to say, so he leaves for now. He's not surprised when Sans ends up following him out to the lounge two hours later, swaying slightly. He has a feeling more than one bottle might be missing from downstairs as well.

 **"so… do you think… he's even looking?"** Sans flops onto the couch, head landing in Grillby's lap. Grillby sees a flash of memory where the skeleton spent many days where their father had worked late with no warning, with his head like this as he was worrying. He'd been a lot smaller then, though.  
"I honestly don't know enough to be able to tell you, Sans." Grillby's flames fizzed with some concern, but Sans doesn't seem to notice. "You showed up after nearly thirty years after your father told us you were staying in the lab because you'd fallen ill. I think most of us assumed… well, assumed the worst. Well, up until he moved, that was enough to give us some hope."  
 **"hehe, yeah."** The laugh holds no humour. **"'ill', right. the worst thing about my health was always being bonely. there was always someone around, sure, but they were always there as an observer. 'scientific detachment'. hehehe, i threw my arm at the last person to tell me that. one of his minions. just 'i got a scientific detachment for ya' and woop- arm in their face."** He laughs, this time it was definitely amused, and Grillby found it impossible not to laugh along with him, despite the highly disturbing implications of where this conversation was leading.  
"Sans?" He waits for the laughter to pass. "Did he-"  
Sans cuts him off with a clumsy hand to the face. **"shh."** He looks and giggles. **"whoops, forgot you don't have lips. how do you talk anyway? or eat?"  
** "How do you?" A note of irritation colours his tone, and it seems to refocus the very drunk skeleton. The hand is removed from his head flame. Thankfully.  
 **"i don't think the word is… the one about to come from your… face... fire... thing. they're more like… tests. tests and tests and tests and tests. tests until i literally can't do anything but sleep, sometimes."** It definitely sounds like the word he was stopped from saying. Concern starts fizzling through his flames again and this time Sans does notice. **"he didn't hurt me, actually he tried his best to treat me well even when i was being an asshole, but i don't know… i became a puzzle to solve, i think. and the less he got answers and the older i got, the more it frustrated him. and you know what he's like when he can't solve a problem."  
** "Sounds like you did the right thing walking out, honestly."  
 **"but it's not him."** Sans sighs from his lap, sad eyes betraying the frozen grin.  
"... Papyrus." Grillby clicks. It was never his father he was asking about in the first place.  
 **"the one good thing was his visits. Well, him and alph but it's not the same. anyway, pap used to catch me up on all the cool stuff he was doing and it was his visits that kept me… well, sane. and if he was visiting, there was no tests. And i thought by now that i would have heard someone talking about a skeleton looking for his brother, but…"  
** "I can find out. For now, I would try not to worry about it." Sans gives him a lazy thumbs up.  
 **"sounds good grillbz."  
** "But for now… you should get some rest." sans shrugs in his lap.  
 **"...aren't you even a little bit curious? you got little ol' drunk me full of secrets and an empty skull."  
** "Well... you are exactly the same as you've always been even, when you were younger. You'll say what's on your mind whenever it takes your fancy. I didn't get to being an old flame by being impatient."  
 **"oh. well, then, thanks."** Sans sighs again, and promptly passes out on his lap, but Grillby can't bring himself to being upset. He checks Sans is asleep before shifting himself out from under him and standing to go and use the phone without waking him.

The routine is picked up the next morning as if nothing was said the night before. Routine is nice, Sans thinks to himself as he's wiping tables down. Better than he gave it credit for, maybe.

Sans had only one thing that he'd planned from the outset, and she hadn't been hard to find. Actually, Asgore's little protégé hadn't been hard to find at all - it was just that he'd needed to pull his shit together first. That, and roam the underground until he knew it nearly as well as he knew the lab. He'd watched silently and unseen as Undyne and Asgore trained, and as they headed in from the gardens to drink tea together. It was strange, from Papyrus' stories he's built her up to be cruel and cold, but she appeared to be anything but seeing her without a front to put out. The soul doesn't lie though, and there are marks there that denotes her violent streak. She seemed to value strength, but it was the wrong kind of strength. He figured that she just needed a little help to be shown how to see how strong his little brother was.

Undyne's leaving through the twilight hall when she walks chest-first into a solid mass. She stumbles back a few steps having been taken completely off guard, and is surprised to see a skeleton there. He was shorter than the dweeb she was used to dealing with, and despite the grin on his face and the fact he's stood with his hands in his pockets, something about him made her skin crawl uncomfortably.  
"Oh, great, another dweeb. Get the fuck outta my way, I'm too busy to waste time with you."  
 **"hope you don't speak to my brother with that mouth."** _  
_"The really tall nerd? You're related to that guy?" He sees it on her face. Then she laughs, some thought going through her head amuses her. Sans figures it's probably the complete lack of physical resemblance - she wouldn't be the first to find it amusing or strange.  
 **"i'll take that as a yes."** Now he's staring at her, and that mixed with the smile that hasn't moved an inch she just wants to get out.  
"Whatever." She strides past him. As she reaches the end of the hall, however, he's stood there waiting for her. Same stance, same look. She looks between the space where he had stood and where he stood now. "what the hell?"  
 **"i'm here to give you some friendly advice."  
** "Save it."  
 **"No, you _really_ want to hear this."** She notices that the voice changes for a moment, and it commands her attention. Then he's back to his lazy drawl, and Undyne has no idea what the hell is happening but she really doesn't like it. **"see now, my brother's been telling me for a while now that you're being kinda mean to him. he's come to you a few times to make friends, and i'm pretty sure the last time that i spoke to him, you shoved him. it was a little while ago, you might not remember, but i do - same as I remember you didn't hurt him, but you hurt his feelings really badly."  
** "Then maybe you should be telling him to leave me alone. I don't make friends with wimpy losers like him, if he wants to be friends maybe he should grow up and stop with the touchy-feely stuff."  
He just stares at her. **"he's not a wimpy loser, you just don't know him... or you don't know what strength is. one of the two."  
** "I know enough about him to know he ain't worth my time."  
 **"so what about when you're in the royal guard? aren't they supposed to protect 'wimpy losers' like him once asgore's finished training you? looked like you're pretty close."** Undyne's eye twitches. A smirk lights his pupils. **"yeah, i was watching."  
** "Why do I attract the freaks?" She mutters to herself. "You want me to leave him alone? Fine."  
 **"mmm… i was just going to ask for that, but then you started being an asshole. so. instead, i'm gonna make you a deal."  
** " _what_?" She all but hisses the word at him. This little punk's really starting to get on her nerves. Who does he think he is?!  
 **"you spend a day with him. you indulge him in whatever weird thing he wants to do, you smile and you play along and you play nice. you don't have to be friends after if you don't want to be, but you give him a chance."**  
"No wa-"  
 **"or..."** He cuts her off firmly. **"we can continue this discussion a little less friendly-like. It's your choice, pal."  
** She stares at him, trying to figure out what the hell he thinks he's playing at. Anger bubbles within her. She *CHECKS him, and laughs when she sees 1HP "and what if I take option 2, punk? You aren't going to be much of a fight. I nearly kicked Asgore's BUTT!"  
 **"then you obviously option 1 is the bigger challenge, if you can't stand him that much."**  
"CHALLENGE? HANGING OUT WITH THE DORK AIN'T A CHALLENGE! YOU WAIT AND SEE! FUHUHUHUHUHU" He lets her storm past him this time, satisfied.

One day is all it's gonna take, he's sure of it. It's impossible not to like Pap once you spend time with him.

Papyrus stared at his phone, wishing it would just ring already. He was very happy that his brother had finally managed to get outside but he just wished that he hadn't been forgotten about. "NO, HE HASN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME. HE COULDN'T, I AM FAR TOO GREAT. HE DIDN'T HAVE A PHONE WHEN HE LEFT. YES… THAT'S IT… NYEH… HEH… HEH."

Papyrus heaves a sigh.

Undyne had crossed paths with the skeleton in question on her way back home, still fuming over the confrontation. She'd grinned with sharp teeth at his back, then it had faltered slightly as the short skeleton's words had played out again in her mind. Then she'd heard him speak out loud, and he'd sounded so… sad. Aww, hell. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. The shorter, somehow weirder one hadn't said a full day after all. "What's up nerd?"

"O-OH, UNDYNE. I… IT'S NOTHING. YOU HAVE TO GET BACK TO SEE GERSON, RIGHT? LET ME GET OUT OF YOUR WAY…" He unfolds himself from where he'd been sat on the floor and starts to head back towards the capital. This was so unlike the loud, brash skeleton that irritated her daily that she feels a small quirk of sympathy.  
"Who's 'he'?"  
"Who's who?" The skeleton's head swivels around as he tries to find the 'he' he thought undyne was on about.  
"No… not-" she growls a little bit before taking a breath. She wasn't going to survive today without punching this nerd, was she? "You said 'he hasn't forgotten about me'. Who's that 'he'?"  
"OH! THAT HE IS SANS, HE'S MY BROTHER. HE WAS SICK FOR A LONG TIME BUT HE WAS OBVIOUSLY FEELING BETTER BECAUSE HE LEFT HIS ROOM AT THE HOSPITAL. ACTUALLY, NOBODY SAW HIM LEAVE BUT HE HASNT WORKED SINCE THEN AND HE HASN'T CALLED OR SPOKEN TO ANYONE. HE MIGHT JUST BE HIDING, HE WAS THE BEST AT HIDE AND GO SEEK - EVEN BETTER THAN ME AS HARD AS THAT IS TO BELIEVE! HE THOUGHT I DIDN'T KNOW HE LET ME WIN, BUT IT WAS OBVIOUS."  
"...is he about so high with a blue hoodie and a stupid grin on his face?"  
"YES!" she watches him just light up. She's going to deny the fact that even helping him that simply made her feel at least a little good. "SO YOU'VE SEEN HIM?"  
"Today, actually. He told me…" something in her tells her it's a bad idea to let him in on the deal "he told me to say hi after my training with Asgore. We could go see if he's still there?"  
Papyrus looks at her, thoroughly perplexed. "THIS IS NOT ONE OF YOUR JAPES, IS IT?"  
"Nah, but if you wanna come you'd better come. I'm not going to stay here forever."  
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" He grins and bounds off. She sighs and starts to follow him. She debates just turning the fuck around and hoping out while his back's turned and just saying she spent the whole day, but a shudder goes through her. Is she being watched? "COME ON UNDYNE!"

She briefly looks about her, but there's nothing that she can see. The feeling doesn't shift. She starts following the tall skeleton with a sigh.

"WAIT A MOMENT." Undyne pauses as Papyrus starts to dig through his satchel that he'd still had with him from school. He pulls out a small desk fan, but the wire that would have plugged in had been cut off at about a foot long and went into a small black box. He holds it out to Undyne with a grin. "YOU HATE HOTLANDS MORE THAN I DO, SO HERE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL LEND YOU THIS!"  
"I… what? I mean, what the hell is this thing?" nice save.  
"IT'S A FAN " He narrows his eyes at her like she just asked what two plus two was.  
"I KNOW THAT, DORK! Aren't you supposed to plug them in?"  
"OH! NO, THIS" he waves the box "MEANS I DONT HAVE TO, AS LONG AS I REMEMBER TO CHARGE IT. AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NEVER FORGETS SOMETHING LIKE THAT - I CHARGE IT AT THE SAME TIME I CHARGE MY PHONE TO MAKE SURE."  
She shrugs, and hits the 1 button. She's met by a gentle whir of fan blades and a gentle breeze. Wow. He starts into hotlands itself, and she follows. She ups the speed of the fan, and while it doesn't do much to cool the intense heat, the air being moved certainly does help with the dryness. She feels like a dork carrying it though. "Where did you find this?"  
"IN THE LAST PILE OF GIFTS THAT SANTA LEFT WITH SANS AT THE LAB. THAT'S WHERE HE LEAVES THE SPECIAL THINGS THAT HE AND HIS ELVES MAKE FROM SCRATCH, YOU SEE, SO IF THEY DON'T WORK WHEN I TRY THEM, SANS CAN FIX THEM. HE TELLS SANS HOW SO HE CAN SPEND MORE TIME DELIVERING TO EVERYONE ELSE!"

Undyne stares at him. "You… You're fucking kidding me, right? You know that-" she feels something tug her leg out from under her and her face meets floor before she knows what's happening. She growls but upon looking, the only person there was Papyrus, and he was a foot in front of her. "-what was THAT?!"  
He sees her on the floor and picks her up like she was a bag of sugar, and sets her back upright gently. That makes her blink in surprise - she might be thin but she's not light being all muscle.  
"PLEASE, BE MORE CAREFUL. YOU MIGHT HURT YOURSELF!"  
"I… must have tripped." She knows she didn't but what's she going to blame? There's nothing there. "OH SHIT, THE FAN!" she cries, seeing it having buckled under her weight when she fell. It had stopped rotating, and she picks it up neither of them can make it start again. Papyrus simply shrugs and laughs it off as he puts it away.  
"THAT JUST MEANS WE HAVE ANOTHER REASON TO FIND HIM NOW! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! LET US GO. WE SHALL GO TO THE NICE CREAM MAN FIRST."

She blinks harder before following.

Papyrus refuses to let her pay for the nice cream. He also carries her through the hottest part when she's starting to feel too tired to go on. She had been starting to really dry out and he'd simply picked her up and piggybacked her until they reached the fountain at capital. Sure, he'd dropped her in it, but by now she was sure that he didn't mean it meanly - and he hadn't, it was just the quickest way he could think of to get her moist again. She'd actually found it kind of hilarious.  
Hell, she didn't think she had it in him whatsoever to be any kind of mean, but now she was starting to see that just because he was a weanie didn't mean he was a bad weanie. "Hey, ner- uh, Papyrus."  
"YES?"  
"Why are you so… nice?"  
"WHAT?"  
"To me, I mean. I was… I was kind of a dick to you."  
"OH THAT'S SIMPLE!"  
"...AND?!"  
"BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT!" He grins at her. "EVERYBODY, I THINK, HAS THE CHANCE TO BE NICE. EVERYBODY IS A GOOD PERSON, SOME JUST HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN OTHERS! AND YOU MUST HAVE HAD YOUR REASONS FOR BEING 'A DICK' AS YOU PUT IT, BECAUSE YOU'VE ONLY BEEN NICE TODAY AND THAT PROVES MY POINT! NOT THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM NEVER WRONG!" he pulls a pose, and then quickly adds the quiet addendum "ABOUT IMPORTANT THINGS ANYWAY."

Heh, it hadn't even taken a whole day. Good old Pap. Loneliness stirs within him as he watches. He can just imagine all the things his brother would be telling him he's done wrong since he left, and how to do better. He returns to his room through a shortcut satisfied he doesn't need to keep an eye any longer. He misses his brother. He needs to leave.

By the end of a day passed with laughter, she's convinced that Papyrus is just about the sweetest monster she's ever met and possibly in the underground full stop. She'd sort of known it anyway, and that's why she'd been so mean to him… monsters like that aren't going to be anything but fodder when the humans come or they break the barrier, whichever came first, and she was trying to toughen them up a bit. And now… she's thinking two things. A) His brother had been right and B) maybe she's been thinking about this all wrong. Undyne and Papyrus eventually reach the hall where she had spoken to his brother, and she hadn't expected him to be there still but she had kind of hoped he was going to be for Papyrus' sake.  
"Sorry, he was here. I'm not sure where he went after this. Maybe we could ask Asgore if he's seen him?"  
"NO, I'M SURE HE'S BUSY. BESIDES, SANS WILL BE FOUND WHEN HE WANTS TO BE." He laughs to himself, and it puzzles Undyne a little. Then she remembers what he was saying earlier.  
"Hey, tell me a story."  
"WOWIE, REALLY?!"  
He lights up with the most excited and passionate expression she's ever seen. It lights a fire in her soul. She responds with just as much passion. "OF COURSE! it'll give us something to talk about on the way to Waterfall!"  
"BACK TO…" his eyesockets fill with excitement, and she laughs. "YOU LIVE IN WATERFALL, RIGHT? I, OF COURSE, SHALL WALK YOU HOME! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A GENTLEMAN AFTER ALL!"

Man, she really feels bad for picking on this kid. She has a strong feeling that that was the point of the deal.

"YOU WANTED A STORY, YES?"  
"HELL YEAH! What makes you so sure he'll turn up? There's a story there, I can tell."  
"ABSOLUTELY! THE DAY BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, ME AND MY BROTHER HAD A DISAGREEMENT ABOUT… I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT, ACTUALLY, I FORGAVE HIM FOR IT LONG AGO SO IT WASN'T IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IT. BUT THE NEXT DAY HE WAS STILL BEING GRUMPY SO I SUGGESTED WE PLAYED A GAME TO CHEER HIM UP. HIDE AND GO SEEK WAS ALWAYS HIS FAVOURITE SO THAT'S WHAT I PICKED. I STILL DON'T KNOW WHERE HE HID, BUT I LOOKED FOR, LIKE, THE WHOLE DAY. I WAS SCARED THAT HE'D GOT LOST, AND AT THAT POINT HE APPEARS AND HE TOLD ME THAT I SHOULDN'T BE SCARED BECAUSE EVEN IF I COULDN'T SEE HIM HE WOULD BE CLOSE." Papyrus very much leaves the crying out of the story because he doesn't want his cool new friend to know that bit. Undyne slaps him on the back a little too hard, but he thinks it's meant to be consoling.  
"Sounds like you're right! And I know he's looking out for ya in the mean time, nerd!" She grins at him, and he nods back with his own grin.  
"NYEH HEH HEH HEH, I NEVER DOUBTED IT! I JUST... REALLY MISS HIM."

She never apologizes for her behaviour, and nor does she have to. She just vows to herself to treat him better. She doesn't sees Sans again for a long while, but sometimes when she and Papyrus are hanging out, she still gets that feeling of being watched.


	12. Chapter 12 - meanwhile

_Just a sneaky beaky look at the 'meanwhile' section of what's going on. a well overdue meeting haha, someone needed to do it. Thanks for all the support so far guys xxx_

* * *

They've had a comfortable routine in place for about a while now, and Sans has started to come downstairs during actual opening hours. It honestly made Grillby glad, he was worried that the skeleton was going to stay in his self-imposed bubble forever. He got on well with the locals, and they had taken to him quickly. Mind you, Grillby knew first hand that when he put his mind to it and made an effort at socializing, he was probably one of the most likeable people you would ever meet. Puns aside, that is… although they went down well with people who didn't have to hear them 24/7. It was musing over this while on a restocking trip that it gave Grillby an idea.  
 **"...comedy show, huh?"  
** "Well, it's a thought. If you're making everyone in the building laugh, why not make a few g off of it?"  
 **"after your back rent or something?"** He smarms, and Grillby replies with a laugh.  
"Or you could pay your tab off, as a start." Which starts Sans off laughing. "But seriously… I think you'd do well. It'd just be the people here in Snowdin, so what's the harm? You could start getting yourself…" he gestures vaguely, they both know how devoid the room is upstairs of any real personality. He wonders about that sometimes, but dares not ask. If time has proven anything, it's that there's no getting answers before he's ready. "Something. Anything."  
 **"...i've got what i need."** He shrugs casually, the act of which Grillby had been around him enough to know that meant he was uncomfortable. Maybe it was because they both had the same problem of inexpressive faces that they had both learned to read the smallest of inflections off of each other, and quickly… probably more so than either expected.  
"And there's a difference between needing and wanting, Sans. Maybe you should try it." He waves a flaming hand, dismissing the statement as it came from him to take the sting out of the layered meaning. "But it was only an idea; you've got a floor space if you want to try it."  
Sans pauses, phalanges tapping thoughtfully for a moment. **"i'll think about it, okay?"** He taps a couple more times before the grin turns an honest edge. **"...thanks, grillbz."**

From the sparse pieces of information he had gathered from the skeleton, he has a feeling that 'wanting' was either a foreign concept, or a forgotten one.

All things considered, between the amount of time they spent together and how they'd learned to read each other, there wasn't much Sans could pull out of the bag to surprise him any more. So for him to pull three in a row was enough to nearly dust the old flame. Metaphorically speaking, of course. The first was when he was tending bar, and with no ceremony or even warning whatsoever Sans came downstairs with a man like a purpose a few nights after their discussion, dragged a bar stool over to where the Jukebox was, flicked it off and sat in the corner turning out puns and one-liners like they were going out of fashion. Grillby set up a hat on the bar without pulling Sans' attention for tips, and (this was less of a surprise) the hat ended up full by the end of the night. Surprise number 2 was when he accepted the money at the end of the night when Grillby offered it to him without any argument.

Suprise number 3 was the biggest though.

"Sans... why a trombone?" He's not even going to question the lips thing, the skeleton defied all leaps of logic as far as anything related to anatomy and physiology, "And I swear to God if you just spent money to make a bad joke-"  
 **"hey, whatever i wanted, right?"** His eye lights radiated excitement, and Grillby found it hard to look away from them. **"but apart from the obvious pun there, which is _never_ a bad thing, i figured it was time to start learning something new."  
**"...You did, huh?" Grillby's flames burned slightly brighter without command in response to the leap of joy in his soul. He was glad to see Sans finally seeming to start properly healing. It had been a long road, but he was finally putting whatever happened behind him. He knew he still had a Papyrus-shaped hole, and Grillby was still very delicately handling that situation on his end, but it seems it was finally starting to scab over and scar over. Deep wounds don't heal prettily, anybody knows that.

And Grillby would put up with all the bum notes in the world for that.  
There was a lot of them, enough that a few times Grillby really questioned his commitment to that thought. But whenever he reached the end of his tether and did go and open the door, seeing the room with spread out books and music sheets, made him give an encouraging thumbs up and leaving the room again with an internal smile. When the 'music' stopped for a few days, Grillby had worried that he'd gotten discouraged and he was going to just put it aside, but he should really have known better. He doesn't know what happened in those few days, as Sans barely left the room even for food, but the next time he played, it was better. Still not a hundred percent, but better, and within a month he was playing like he had done it his whole life. He remembers when they used to stay when they were just 'babybones' as Sans says it, how he would learn in much the same way. Just be real stubborn until it clicked. Grillby still wasn't sure why the trombone of all things, but the question was irrelevant at the end of the day. What mattered was the music, and how he looked while he was playing it. Sans obviously enjoyed it, and he was free of all the tension hiding in his collar bone, spine, and shoulder blades and joints. That. That's what was relevant at the end of the day.

 **"hey, grillby? how come the jukebox ain't working anymore?"** It was an evening where Sans was down and wasn't entertaining - knowingly or not. Grillby had fallen into the habit of keeping the Jukebox off since the trombone had got better and the comedy routines started. If he wasn't down here earning some money for who knows what else, he was upstairs playing and people had become quite used to hearing the soft music drifting down from above. Nobody complained on the nights it was quiet, either. He offered Sans a shrug in response as he thought to himself _Recent disuse, probably. It was already getting old when I got the place._ **"do you want me to take a look?"**  
He shakes his head. "I'll get a new one if I need it."  
He never did get round to it, though. It just never seemed necessary, whether it was in the music drifting through from the floor above or the comedy act turned out once a week below, the bar had an energy and an atmosphere renewed when Sans was around, and the quiet days where he stayed upstairs or went out hummed off of an invisible slipstream that seemed to carry them by. He had noticed that on the comedy days, they were slowly getting more visitors in from further afield. If it bothered Sans, he never let it show, and he didn't say anything to Grillby. And he didn't hesitate before setting up in his corner and commanding the room, no matter how many people came. The difference between the comedy and the music was, Grillby noticed, was that underlying layer of tension. He knew nobody else could see it, but he saw the way he would sweep across the crowd as he was talking and the more subtle ways he manipulated the crowds into laughter with careful facial expressions and gestures. The comedy was a front, something he was good at and something he could control, the music was a truth and a passion, something he'd learned from scratch because he'd wanted to and something he enjoyed - raw and honest.

Grillby could listen to him play every night if he would, but the fire elemental wouldn't ask him. Instead, he decides it's time to visit an old friend. He just has to wait for his moment.

Grillby had gone to check on Sans and found the room empty. The bar was yet to open for lunchtime and Grillby decided that he had an errand to run that was more important. Lunchtime wasn't busy anyway, most of his regulars being sentries meant that they were on duty. DB would just have to start her usual binge later on than normal. Or start at home which would more likely be the case. He makes his way to hotlands with purpose in his stride, the low simmering anger that he'd held for a while now making his flames burn hotter and brighter than normal.

He knew exactly where he would find him.

He makes use of the open door policy that had always been in place for him, glad that the team hadn't changed much and he was greeted genially. He spares enough time for a wave before making his way to his destination. He still knew his way round well enough that he found the private office with no issues.

He greets Gaster with a well-deserved right hook.

The hands are summoned and start speaking along with the voice, and confusion is in both. "Grillby? What-"  
"You are an asshole."  
Gaster takes a minute to look at him, and he notices how bright he's flickering. He's only seen him wound up this much enough times to count on one hand, and realisation settles within him. He only got this wound up when he was in protection mode. "...he came to you, didn't he? I knew he was around the area, but…"  
"Where else did he have to go?!"  
"I was doing what I thought was best for him!" Gaster loses his own temper, the signs comping through choppy and sharp.  
"I am sure you did." He crackles and hisses at him, crossing his arms to resist the urge to swing for him again. "You never could turn off your scientific curiosity enough to see the effects your actions have on people though, could you?"  
The words dig into Gaster like fish hooks. He couldn't deny it at all. He sighs heavily, letting himself slump onto his desk in defeat. Grillby doesn't move at all. "No. I tried my best to… but at the end it was like I was always saying the wrong things have no matter what."

Grillby sighs himself at the admission. "You need to pull your head out of your ass, Wingdings. You knew something about what you were doing was wrong. You must have done." The only answer Gaster has for that is burying his face in his hands. He'll take that as a 'yes' then. "Why did you lie about it? That's the worst thing about all this."

"I… don't know anymore. I told Papyrus that so he wouldn't… get scared of what was happening at the time or so that he wouldn't ask too many questions about Sans coming home, because he was so young, and then the next thing I knew that's what I had told everyone. It just all spiralled out of control before I knew what was happening."  
"Gaster…"  
"I know." Grillby's flames have died down, and he leans against the wall just looking at his old friend. "Nothing about this ended up how it was supposed to be."  
"At some point, he's going to come looking to you for answers. Real answers. You need to know what you are going to tell him. 'I don't know' isn't going to cut it for him. Lies won't either."  
"I know."  
"After all this, did you even find the answers you were looking for?"  
"Some of them, but there's still a lot about him that remains unknown."  
"You need to tell him what you've found out."  
"I cannot."  
"That is not _your_ decision to make. He deserves answers when he wants them. He already knows that you're not telling him everything you know."  
"I cannot!"  
"Bullshit!"  
"Then you tell me how the hell I am supposed to tell him he's broken?!"

Grillby narrows his eyes behind his glasses at the choice of words as Gaster comes out from behind his hands, dragging them down his face in exhaustion. "He's not broken."

"You don't understand."  
"Then explain. Consider it practice."  
"The only concrete piece of anything we found was the reason for his emotional state. I'm sure by now you've seen the depression and the apathy he's prone to falling into. That's because his soul is broken. The only thing that's stopping him from becoming a pile of dust is what magic they transplanted from me to him."  
"And he doesn't know this? Tell me this is one of your bad jokes."  
"I wish I could."  
Grillby growls at him, feeling his anger bubble up again. He takes a moment to tamp it down. "...you need to tell him."  
"Now who's telling the bad jokes? Do you have any idea what it could-"  
"That is also not your right to decide! The minute you made the discovery, you should have told him!"  
"But-"  
"No! Don't you dare. Something like that is not yours to hide. He deserves to know, and it's his right to know. You need to give him more credit. He might have a broken soul, but that monster is anything but broken." He spits the word, and it leaves a foul taste in his mouth. "And I swear on everything dear to me that if I find out you call him that to his face…" he lets the unspoken threat hang in the air.

"...I tried my best."

"I know. That's the only reason this place isn't ash by now."  
Gaster nods, knowing that the fire elemental isn't one for making idle threats.

"...Can you at least… tell me how he is?"  
"He's well. When he first came, he was scared of being found and of you dragging him back here. Now, he's getting there. Adjusting. It's a slow process, but these things are never immediate. He's finally coming out of his shell, as well."  
"Sounds like he's doing well."  
"He is. He's missing his brother, but he's too terrified of coming back here that he refuses to approach him in any form, although I have a feeling that's where he goes when he sneaks out. He's also not wanting to break the younger brother's rather idyllic life view by telling him the truth of things, by what I can gather. He's rather drunk whenever he talks about his brother." Under any other situation, the statement might have made Gaster chuckle. But not here and not now. "When the time is right, I am going to arrange a meeting for them both. You aren't going to interfere."  
"...Of course not."  
"He's also not ready to see you yet and until he decides he is... you are not welcome in Snowdin."  
" But- no. No, You're right."  
"And in the mean time, I suggest you take a long, hard look at the way of things and decide what it is you should be telling him when the time comes. Although I would recommend _everything_ as a good starting point."

Gaster nods, too tired for anything more.

Grillby lets himself out, shaking his head. Once he's back to the bar, he repeats the word 'broken' to himself, rolls his eyes and shakes his head again before starting to take his frustrations out on the glasses behind the bar.

They've never been cleaner by the time the door sign is flipped to open.


	13. Chapter 13 - shake up and settle down

Grillby sat at the table, closed sign up and Sans sent on an unnecessary errand that should keep him busy for a few hours. Grillby's sat waiting in quiet contemplation, a nervous flicker to his flames that he couldn't quite get under control. He was more than aware that the meeting he was setting up unbeknownst to his houseguest was a complete breach of trust and if he found out before the appropriate time, it could well tear down every inch of trust he'd built up and put back up every metaphorical wall he'd torn down. And that's before how damned risky this meeting was in the first place.

Shit, what was he actually doing right now?

He didn't have time to back out though, as the door burst open twenty minutes before he expected it to.  
"IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS. I WAS TOLD YOU WISHED TO MEET?"  
Somehow, he sounded exactly like Grillby expected him to. "Yes. Can you still understand me?" It hadn't been an issue for Sans but it was always best to check. It wasn't like he had a translator available for this meeting, and it was not going to be the easiest thing to do by any other means of communication.  
"OF COURSE! IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, BUT NOT THAT… I GUESS IT HAS BEEN THAT LONG, ACTUALLY. HMM." The tall skeleton sits as Grillby gestures to him to take a seat. "I MUST SAY, I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR YOU WERE ASKING AFTER ME. ALTHOUGH I SHOULDN'T BE, I AM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD ALL ABOUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND ALL HIS AMAZING EXPLOITS."  
"I've heard some things." He agrees noncommittally. It hadn't been hard to track him down, but it wasn't anything that would be considered 'amazing' as such, by normal standards. Grillby decides not to tell him that though. "We haven't got a lot of time for our meeting, I have another… visitor. I apologize, but I must get straight to the point."  
"...OKAY…?" The skeleton's eye sockets narrow a bit, somewhat suspicious.  
Grillby sighs, then chomps straight at the meat of why he'd wanted to speak to him. "Why haven't you been looking for your brother? And if you knew he was here, why haven't you come to see him?"  
Surprise widens the small eye sockets. "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'LOOKING' AND 'HERE'? SANS HAS BEEN TRAVELLING NOW HE FEELS BETTER. AT FIRST I JUST THOUGHT HE WAS PLAYING HIDE AND GO SEEK OR SOMETHING, BUT IT TURNS OUT I HAD BEEN WRONG! I AM VERY PLEASED HE IS FINALLY GETTING TO BROADEN HIS HORIZONS, THOUGH! IT ALSO EXPLAINS WHY HE HASN'T CALLED AT ALL!"  
Grillby's flames hiss and pop in frustration, and the act catches both of them off guard. Grillby takes a moment to temper himself. "Sorry, I'm not angry with you. Papyrus. Think about it. Do you really believe that?"  
"...IT IS STRANGE THAT HE WOULDN'T SAY GOODBYE BEFORE HE LEFT. AND I HAVEN'T HAD ONE POSTCARD, BUT I THOUGHT THAT HE WAS JUST WAITING TO TELL ME HIS SUPER COOL ADVENTURES WHEN HE GOT HOME AS HE DIDN'T HAVE A PHONE."  
"Who told you that he was travelling, or did you-"  
"DAD DID A LITTLE WHILE AGO." Papyrus says almost quietly, cutting into the follow-on question. It looks like something might be clicking. "HE LIED."  
"It sounds like it." He can almost see the cogs clicking into place inside the skeleton's skull.  
"...WHAT ELSE HAS HE LIED ABOUT?"  
...He knows Sans is going to kill him if Papyrus says that Grillby told him, but he answers after some hesitation anyway. "He was never sick in the first place, and he disliked it enough that he walked out while everyone was distracted. Sans… doesn't say much about his time 'away', but he's told me that much. He has been living here for roughly a year and a half." and some other things, but that's not his story to tell. The skeleton looks like his world is coming crashing down around him, and Grillby moves and puts a hand over Papyrus'. "I really am sorry I have to be the one to tell you these things, but it is time that someone tells you the truth."  
"I … IS HE HAPPY?"  
"I think so. I _hope_ so."  
"IS HE HERE?"  
"Not at the moment. He doesn't know you are visiting today."  
"WHY NOT?" Another click inside the skeleton's skull. "OH. THIS TALK IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE A PUZZLE AND I AM GREAT AT THEM - I AM PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER AS WE SPEAK! YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM IN CASE HE GETS SPOOKED AND LEAVES. DON'T WORRY, THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME, I THINK IT IS BEST IF I SAY NOTHING TO DAD ABOUT HIM BEING HERE. AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A MASTER OF KEEPING SECRETS." Grillby really hopes so. "WELL, YOUR OTHER VISITOR MIGHT BE HERE SOON, AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS TO GET BACK TO WORK ON THE PUZZLES IN HOTLANDS, I DECIDED THAT FOR THIS I WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE MY BREAK TODAY, SO I WILL BE OFF! BUT, IS IT… OKAY… IF I VISIT AGAIN SOMETIME. WHEN HE IS HERE?"  
"Yes, but you need to give me some time to-"  
"OKAY THEN! I WILL BE BACK SOON! GOODBYE GRILLBY, IT WAS NICE SEEING YOU AGAIN!" And he's off. Well, he certainly hasn't lost any energy. Now, the next problem. How on earth does he tell Sans about this?

He doesn't get the chance to. Sans is mid-routine that night, lazy grin on his face and enjoying the atmosphere as people laugh and chatter between them. Grillby's going to talk to him after this, he'd already decided, but as usual his best laid plans turn to dust in the wind. Sans is in the middle of setting up a punchline, when Grillby hears him freeze. He follows the suddenly panicked eyelights to the door that's just opened, and doesn't hesitate to chase the skeleton down as he flees upstairs. Shit, shit, shit. He didn't realise that this was what Papyrus had meant by 'soon'. He reaches the bedroom door, but it's already locked and he can hear frantic banging and rustling.  
"Sans! Open the door!"  
 **"no time."** and increased pace in the rustling, no doubt Sans frantically shoving essentials in a bag.  
"Sans, please! I can-" he feels a building of magic behind the door. "Your father doesn't know he's here!"  
Silence, and the magic drops. Was he too late?

Sans slowly unlocks the door, looking up at him furiously. He sees Grillby look away from the entirely dark and empty eye sockets. **"see... that sounds like you know something about this."**  
"I was going to talk to you tonight after closing."  
 **"well then, go and close. i'll wait."  
** Grillby doesn't hesitate. Sans hears the distant murmurs of complaints and a discussion - well, one side of it anyway and by the sounds of it Papyrus is being told to wait downstairs and isn't too happy about it but finally agrees to wait - then the fire elemental comes back upstairs slowly. Sans just stands there, hands in pockets with his bag hooked over his wrist, waiting as patiently as he can manage. The fire elemental shifts under the weight of his stare even though his pupils had come back in place. Good.

"I don't know where you want me to start."  
 **"take your pick. sounds like i am gonna have a whole lotta bones to pick with you tonight."**  
"I know." Grillby sighs, and leans against the doorframe suddenly feeling very, very weary. "I didn't do this lightly, Sans."  
 **"i thought that was the only way you could do things."**  
"Don't do that. Don't push me away with puns and word plays because you've already got it into your skull what I've done and what I haven't."  
 **"it's not like you're telling me any different right now."**  
"Because you're so ready to up and go that you're not letting me actually talk."  
Sans drops the bag he was holding at Grillby's feet and walks himself back into the room. **"so? talk."**  
By the posture and the look in Grillby's eyes behind the glasses, he knows he's gone and messed up major time. But Sans waits for him to pull his act together and say what he needs to, still currently ready to walk out regardless. "I know you still miss him, Sans. You're getting better every day, but I know you still miss him and I don't know how healable that wound is. I've been picking up what information I can ever since the first night you spoke to me about him. I just wanted you to be happy... I knew that it was risky, but I had to do _something_. I just wanted to help you, and I knew you'd react like this the minute I mentioned it if I didn't speak to him first. And it's been a year and a half since you got here, in which time you've started pulling in crowds from as far as hotlands - if your father was coming, he would be here by now. I didn't just jump in and hope for the best, I've been trying to plan this for a while I just… thought I would have a little more time to tell you, I didn't expect Papyrus to show up tonight."

"BROTHER, DON'T BE UPSET WITH HIM. HE DIDN'T KNOW I WAS COMING TONIGHT. I HAD TO SEE YOU." The third voice cuts in, somewhat quietly. Grillby hadn't even heard him come up the stairs. He closes the distance between them in a few long strides and grabs Sans into a tight hug, lifting him off his feet. "I MISSED YOU, TOO."

Grillby watches as Sans hangs loosely in his arms, before reaching up and grabbing onto the other skeleton tightly himself. Grillby backs out of the area, taking himself to the lounge to allow them the space they need.  
 **"pap, I-"**  
"YOU DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, SANS." He puts him down on the floor much more gently than he had picked him up. "I NEED TO, THOUGH. I AM SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW."  
 **"s'ok. dad's good at keeping his secrets.** " Sans gives a small shrug. **"i wanted to find you so badly, but…"  
** "I... UNDERSTAND. AND! I ALREADY FORGIVE YOU. THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NOTHING BUT UNDERSTANDING."  
Sans gives a chuckle, which is more like an exhaling of all the mixed emotions he has going on right now. **"you really are the best."**  
"I KNOW. YOU HAVE ALWAYS TOLD ME SO! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH"  
 **"so... grillby… caught you up on everything?"  
** "HE TOLD ME ENOUGH TO PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER."  
 **"that means you know why i can't go back with you, right?"** It hurts him to say. Papyrus sits down heavily on the bed.  
"I DO... SANS, I HAVE SOME CONFLICTING EMOTIONS ABOUT GOING HOME." Sans sits down, leaving about a foot of space between them. "NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL HIM ABOUT YOU BEING HERE, I SAID TO GRILLBY THAT I WOULDN'T SO I WON'T..."  
 **"so?"** He gently prompts Papyrus.  
"NYEEEH... I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO, HONESTLY. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT OUR DAD HAS LIED FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER AND IT MAKES ME WONDER WHY? I AM SURE HE DIDN'T MEAN ANY HARM BY IT AND THAT HE HAD HIS REASONS! BUT… IF I DONT GO BACK TONIGHT, HE WILL WONDER WHERE I AM. IF I DON'T GO BACK AT ALL, HE WILL POSSIBLY FIND YOU. BUT IT'S NOT JUST THAT! I... WANT TO STAY WITH YOU ANYWAY." Papyrus gives him a smile, and despite himself, Sans smiles back, albeit briefly. He sighs.  
 **"...do you think he would? grillby, who i know is listening out there and shouldn't think that this gets him off the hook-"** The fire elemental chuckles in the lounge, because it's not like one of them is quiet and he might have been listening harder than he needed to to hear the more oftly spoken of the two **"-may have had a point when he said about it being a year and a half. look, why don't you go back tonight and think about what you want to do. tonight's been a lot for you."**  
"WHAT WILL YOU DO?"  
 **"i'm going to get some sleep. i'm feeling downright bone-tired."  
** "NYEH HEH HEH, I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD MISS YOUR TERRIBLE JOKES. AND... I WAS RIGHT!" But, they're both laughing. Papyrus stands, and they say their goodbyes for the evening. Sans uses his magic to drop his bag on the end of the bed from the floor, and to slam the door shut before Grillby had any chance of making his way back in. He was still upset with him, so he wasn't going to let the fire elemental see the grin on his face or the skip in his soul. Or the horde of g he started counting meticulously, everything he'd saved after the trombone.

He'd finally made up his mind on what he was spending it on. What he wanted. Some _space_ , despite where that was going to be. Also, there was some pleasure in the thought of taking something that used to be his father's and making it _his_.

And he'd finally saved enough.

He pays the deposit and the first months' rent, leaving himself enough for food just about. Sans figured that he could continue the comedy act at Grillby's until he gets himself on his feet with an actual job. He gets a couch as the old owners say that it was old enough they don't care for taking it and he manages to stretch budget enough that he can get a mattress and sheets, blanket, and a chest of drawers. He knows from old conversations with Alphys that waterfall is a pretty good place to find odd bits that are useful, and the library is here so he's not got to worry too much about a TV or anything like that immediately. No, getting himself set up wasn't really the issue.

The 'issue' (but not really) is that a couple of days after getting himself into the house, Papyrus had come around with armfuls of things - directly to the new house, too, and Sans has to wonder how he'd found out so fast. Not that Sans was unhappy about this, actually he'd just pointed at the other empty bedroom without hesitation, it was just... he hadn't even got a job to pay for one of him, let alone _two_ of _them_. And while Papyrus claimed to 'work' on the puzzles in hotlands, it hadn't taken much time looking in on him from the shadows to peg that what he'd actually meant was he showed up and 'improved' (his words, not the poor actual workers) the puzzles, and left. At first he just keeps an ear out and turned up to do odd jobs for people that happened to mention having something that needed doing in his earshot and as long as he charged a fair price he tended to get the job. It helped that he was well practiced at being charismatic as hell when he felt like it. Turns out flattery will actually get you pretty much everywhere.

...Which was how he'd managed to get himself in this _sticky_ situation. He sighed as he shook webs off of his slipper, completely clueless as to what could be wanted of him all the way out in this part of the caverns. Especially as he'd just been left a note on his bed and no clues about anything other than someone wanting to talk with him. It had been in a common font, although the handwriting had been a touch fancy - the sort of thing you might expect on a flyer - so he hadn't thought about it long.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, dearie~" a voice that was as sweet as pastry but edged with playful danger drifted out to him. He recognised the voice from a fair while ago.  
 **"muffet?"** Now he's confused. Well, more so.  
"Ooh, the dancing spider man~! Well this _is_ a surprise!"  
The memory brings a laugh to him. **"he he, i'm surprised you remember that."  
** "Ahuhuhuhu but of course I do! I wouldn't forget such a good customer, even just the voice. How did it go, dearie~?"  
 **"amazingly."** he grins.  
"Great!" she claps her hands together with a grin. "Which leads us onto business!"  
 **"uhh... I can't-"  
** "Oh dear me no~" she chuckles. "You're here for a super special once in a lifetime opportunity, dearie~! You see, we've been running a bake sale to raise money to get the spiders out of the ruins, because business there is not so good and I need to reunite the clans! But... snowdin is too cold. I lose more spiders than I bake with! and then... _they_ say that there's someone there who can who can sell you what you need before you need it. and I thought to myself, i just absolutely must have him~! Ahuhuhu!"  
She grins at him, and Sans has to suppress a shudder. Is she going to hire him or eat him? **_possibly both._** He puts on his charming business smile as the thought occurs to him, and plays somewhat dumb. **"so, what do you need?"  
** "It's not what I need, dearie! it's what the customers need, silly! Ahuhuhuhu, they just don't know they need it yet~"  
 **"and that's where I come in."  
** "You'll be paid, of course! And you're already a satisfied customer, so you could just tell people that~! easy peasy! Ahuhuhu, i'll even let you play with my pet~"

Yeah. T _oo_ easy. but ... beggars can't be choosers. **"...just the money will be fine."** They settle a price in the middle of what they both thought was a fair price, and Muffet is pleased that he's almost as hard of a bargain driver as she was. All things considered, the job actually turns out pretty well. Muffet might work him hard for the money he earns, but she always pays fairly and on time. it's enough to cover rent and food with some luxuries with the comedy gig on the side. He finds her pet pretty cute as well, although it might be scary as fuck on first glance. Working for her had been more pleasant than he expected, even though there was always a little part of him that was certain she was going to eat him one of these days.

It's almost a shame when things decide they need shaking up, but he tells Muffet he'll come by at some point and repay the favour.


	14. Chapter 14 - a little patience

_It's human time... sorry, guys, you know what that means. That's not the point of this story so it's non-graphic and short, but just giving a heads up anywho for safety's sake. Thanks so much for all the reviews and faves/follows. Love you all xx_

* * *

"So… your dork brother keeps asking me if you can be a sentry."  
 **"yup. he keeps telling me to come talk to you and now look at this, you called me here. i figured it was probably about this."  
** He could see Undyne hesitate. "Are you… sure…"  
He knows where this is going already. He puts his feet on the table and tips his chair back, tucking his hands behind his head. **"Look, sentry is just lookout, right? i'll sit in the station, keep an eye socket open, and call you if anything goes wrong."** He grins. **"i can nap with one eye open."  
** "Sans-"  
 **" _and_ it'll stop my brother from standing outside your house all hours of the morning." **He dealt the finishing blow.  
She sighs. "But, if anything goes wrong… he would never forgive me. I don't know." He sighs, and tips the chair forward, then stands in one smooth motion.  
 **"okay, tell you what. you grab as many non-lethal implements as possible and meet me outside."** He was already in the garden before she could question him. She looked at the door and grabbed the sofa cushions and the cutlery drawer. Where the hell was this going? He tucks his hands in his hoodie pockets. **"i'll make you a bet. you hit me with any of that stuff, and i go home and tell him you said no."** Pause. **"you might need more stuff actually, if you wanna make this a challenge."** He laced the end word with teasing needles.  
"YOU'RE ON PUNK!" he chuckled. She's too easy. She came out with the stripped couch frame, the table, the freaking piano (he was now starting to think he might have made a mistake), the fridge (yep, made a mistake, oh well, can't back out now). "HOW'S THAT FOR A CHALLENGE?!" she cried jubilantly.

 **"now you just gotta hit me with something."** He winked at her.

The contents of the house flew at him thick and fast, and not one thing made contact. Undyne stood there huffing, a little in awe because he hadn't even taken his hands out his pockets. There's a fine sweat on his skull that makes her feel a little better though. **"hey undyne, how long has it been since we hung out anyway? because it seems like-"  
** "Don't you dare.  
 **"you-"  
** "Sans"  
 **"-missed me"** he chuckles as he dodges a thrown spear. **"so, tomorrow good for me to start then?"  
** She growled at the joke, then sighed. "Yeah, tomorrow's good. Just sentry duty, any trouble you come get me, okay?" She pauses, a thought occurring to her. "Hey, I assume you use blue magic like your brother, right?"  
 **"yup."  
** "Do you need any, like, training or anything? Like I do with papyrus? I've never seen you actually-"  
 **"noooope. 4 o's for emphasis."  
** "Okay." She stretches a bit, then looks around at the mess. "Well, guess we'd better clean this mess up." She looks back to him. He's already gone. How _does_ he do that?

It's a nice peaceful job, for what it's worth. He gets plenty of time for naps, a break, and optimal time to sell hot dogs on the side and make a little extra money. He settles into the routine nicely and it's actually perfect, except for the nagging thoughts that drag him back to Alphys and the lab when it was too quiet.

And his father.

He supposes this means his is due a talk with Gaster. He cannot think of anything he would rather do less, but he does miss working in the lab...and answers would be nice. As much as he hates to admit it, he misses the guy that took him in. He's hoping the fact that he's heard nothing from Gaster bodes well for him. He arrives in the room silently through a shortcut, and seeing his dad focused means he too looks at what he's absorbed in. He ends up staring past Gaster's silhouette at the numbers on the board without announcing his presence, more because he's entirely unsure what to say. He recognises the basis of this as the secondary cooling system to work with the thermal energy feedback system, but the numbers he'd been working on before he'd left had been massacred. He didn't see Alphys' chicken scratch anywhere, so he surmised she'd not been moved out of the soul project since he left. That or she'd been overridden. If they were building it based on this… panic flares in his chest besides Gaster's unmoving form as he stares at it in complete focus.

 **"please, please tell me you're not building based on this. it's literally a disaster waiting to happen."  
** "I am trying to fix it before they get that far in but- _Sans_?!" the frustration quickly melted into surprise and confusion. Pleased confusion, but confusion nonetheless.  
 **"uhh… hey."** Gaster moves towards him like he's going to either hug him or strangle him, but Sans steps back with his movement, keeping the same amount of space between them. **"i'm just here to talk."  
** "Yes… of course." Gaster waves chairs to them, and they sit facing each other. An uneasy silence fills the space between them. It's strange because they had both known what they wanted to say if they ever saw the other, but now they had the words seemed to shrivel up and sit in their mouths unwilling to be said.  
Sans decides that short, sweet, and straight down to the point is the best way to go. **"why?"  
** Gaster chuckles humourlessly. "You were never one to ask the easy questions."  
 **"nah, i just wanna get to the bones of the situation."  
** "Ha, that's easier said than done."  
 **"bullshit."  
** Gaster levels him with a look. "There's more than you know to all of this."  
 **"then _tell_ me."**

Gaster sighs, then stands and goes to his desk. He uses the key to open the large bottom drawer and pulls out three thick folders. He hands them off to Sans. "This is every piece of information about everything, though admittedly the first folder is mostly from memory due to a loss of data." Sans goes to open the folder, but Gaster gently places his hand on the top. "Be sure you want to know before you read it."  
 **"i wouldn't have come if i didn't."  
** "I know. Any questions you have after, I will answer as truthfully as I can to the best of my knowledge."  
Sans goes to flip it open again, but hesitates. Now's not the time or place, something tells him. He's waited this long for answers he can wait a little while longer. He stands, and goes back over to the whiteboard Gaster was looking at.  
 **"who took over the feedback system?"  
** "Everyone started looking to Farler."  
 **"...really?"  
** "He was the one who was here longest after you on that team."  
 **"he never had a clue what he was doing and completely lost his head at the first hint of a problem."  
** "Which was how we ended up with this. Asgore wanted to push the CORE forward as the shell was mostly up and naturally this meant it was nearly finished." Gaster rolls his eyes. "He turned these in to the builders without running them past me first. I let him have a week off to try and get his head screwed on straight away from the pressure… and to try and fix this mess."  
 **"why are you still keeping him on? wait. you've got a _week_? i don't think even you can fix this that fast."  
**Gaster ignored the first question. "Yes. All the base and foundations are up and the shell is completeled almost. They're working on this after they finish the first heat induction processing area which, they tell me, should be a week."  
Sans runs a hand over the back of his skull and it's out of his mouth before he thinks about it. **"get alph and dan, and i'm gonna need all the coffee in hotlands. we're going to need people who are going to work well with us rather than trying to be too helpful and muddling the numbers further. it helps they're both smart as hell."**

Gaster stares at him in surprise, blinks, then nods. He leaves the room swiftly, half scared that Sans will change his mind.

Reunion with Alphys particularly was enough almost enough to bring him to tears. It actually _was_ enough to bring her to tears. She dove at him equal parts ecstatic and confused, and wrapped him in such a tight hug he thought she was going to break him in half at one point. Sans has more than a strong suspicion that Gaster had fetched her first on purpose so they could have this time.

"I-I'm so g-g-glad you're safe."  
 **"geeze, al, thanks for the vote of confidence."** he teases, and she sobs a laugh but lets go of the embrace, wiping at her face.  
"W-where did you go?"  
 **"snowdin."  
** "This whole t-time? Y-y-you could have called."  
 **"sorry."  
** "N-no…" she offers him a smile, just happy to see him. "I-I get it. I was the f-f-first person he asked. Apart f-from maybe your brother." He has no answer to that, and she takes a minute to look him over. She turns a little embarrassed as she says "Y-you look happy. That's g-good."  
 **"yeah… i guess i am. it wasn't easy, and it took a while, but i think i'm there."** He grins at her. Everything actually _was_ great. **"how are things in alpha centauri?"  
** She chuckles. "Y-you're still a n-nerd, t-though. But things are good."  
 **"stellar, even?"  
** "Pfft hahaha, c-could you astro-not?" They both laugh happily for a moment.  
 **"yeah, i missed you too."**

Gaster manages to buy them a week's break on construction from Asgore. Sans wishes he could have been there to hear the magical words 'i made a mistake' come out of his mouth, but he was too busy trying to fix whatever the hell had gone wrong on the feedback system. Damn Farler, his basis had been sound why change it? If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. And hotlands. It's hot as hell here. Heh. So that's how Sans ended up napping as much as possible during sentry duty and spending all evening looking over math, schematics and blueprints. Or, would be napping through it if not for-  
"WAKE UP LAZYBONES!" there it is. But there's a note of urgency that's in Papyrus' voice that snaps him to. He slept light enough that he should have been alert at the first sign of anything odd or trouble, but that's not what this sounded like.  
 **"what happened?"  
** "APPARENTLY THERE IS A HUMAN IN THE UNDERGROUND!"  
 _what?!_ **"what?"  
** "IT'S TRUE! UNDYNE HEARD FROM MUFFET WHO HEARD FROM THE RUINS SPIDERS. THEIR TELEGRAMS ARE NORMALLY PRETTY SLOW THOUGH, SO THEY COULD BE OUT BY NOW. UNDYNE HAS PUT THE WHOLE GUARD ON ALERT!" excitement lights up his brother. "THIS COULD BE MY CHANCE, SANS! I COULD FINALLY CAPTURE A HUMAN!"  
 **"of course you could, bro."** He actually managed to keep the creeping anxiety out of his voice. He wants Papyrus nowhere near that thing if it's as bad as everyone makes out. **"but... I forgot to do my puzzles. throw me a bone? you'll be quicker than doing it than me."** He gives a lazy grin, and receives the sound of his brother having a very small but very frustrated wordless aneurysm.  
"YOU- YOU-"  
 **"hey, i've been working myself down to the bone."** He winks for added effect. If Papyrus had ears, steam would be whistling out of them right now. He stamps his foot and storms off, muttering about lazy brothers and how he can manage to do everything because he's so great. Sans watches him to make sure he's gone, then makes his way into the trees. He steps into the trunk of one, and out by where rabbit and dragon are posted. Normally, messing with these two are hilarious, but not today.

 **"undyne?"  
** "Like, there was totally a royal guard meeting in waterfall, bro."  
"Yeah, she told us to stay here and, like, totally redirect the stragglers."  
"But it was for RG members only, little dude."  
"Yeah, sorry 'bout it."  
 **"ok, thanks guys."**

In waterfall would mean…

He sits on her house, listening to her command the troops just far enough back that he was out of sight from the ground. Listening to her in business mode made it easy to see why the underground had started to idolise her and turn her into their hero. He waits for the last person to move out, and steps forward, swinging his legs over the edge so he's sat with his feet dangling down. **"hey, before you go."**  
"Wha-" she looks around puzzled. "Where the hell are you, Sans?"  
 **"up."  
** She looks up and growls. "Now isn't the time!"  
 **"So I've heard."** The serious tone in the voice is so far removed from normal, and so reminiscent of the momentary flash of serious she'd seen in the hall, and she doesn't even need to know what he's going to say.  
"No. Your job as a sentry is to keep watch and alert the guard if they leave the ruins."  
 **"they haven't left yet?"  
** "Sans, I SAID NO! I _appreciate_ your willingness to help but the human will _kill_ you. You can dodge but i doubt you can dodge forever, and it's not like you can take a hit, damn it."  
 **"i was more going to go and hide by wherever the entrance is and i'll call you if they leave."  
** "..." She can't deny it makes sense. But. "I can't. I gave you the sentry job on the condition you stay out of trouble."  
 **"think of it as a game of hide and go seek then."  
** Papyrus' words come to her from a long time ago. "...you won't engage the human?"  
 **"i'll call you if there's any sign of trouble."  
** "Promise?"  
 **"...i really hate making promises, undyne."  
** "I also know you hate breaking them more. And the fact that I ADMIRE THAT IS THE ONLY REASON I AM EVEN THINKING ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW!" She takes a breath, calming herself back down. The prospect of battle and helping Asgore has got her all fired up. "Promise me you'll call me, or I say NOTHING!"  
 **"fine. i promise you i will call if there's any sign of trouble or if i think i can't handle the situation. now pretty please with fucking sugar on top, where. is. the. entrance?"**

She narrows her eyes at him, fuming. She'll deal with the sarcasm later. "Snowdin forest. If you follow the back trail far enough, you come to a large purple door. Now get down from there and go do your FUCKING JOB!"  
 **"i'm going, i'm going. do I salute or somethin', captain?"** He smirks, before standing. He doesn't hear her finish even starting to yell at him before he steps back back out of sight and shortcuts to his sentry post in Snowdin.

Still clear. He takes the lesser travelled path that leads away from the river, and follows it through the trees. There's a small bridge which he crosses, thinking about the fact he should get pap out here. Plenty of room for traps and japes out here. He steps over a branch, keeping his footfalls light and silent in the snow. He really is the best at hide and go seek. Although, admittedly, it's not so often he gets to go seek as his brother was worse at hiding than seeking. His brother wasn't going to hide, so he's going to go seek; and playtime was officially _over._ The door isn't hidden, but it is slightly grown over, obviously not having been used in a long time. He debates the pros and cons of using blue magic to shift the doors versus shortcutting through them. Shortcutting was risky when he didn't know the end point, but he was just extending the doors' own curve to simulate it being open in time and space to make a path, rather than actually blindly teleporting himself. It far outweighed the risks of possibly alerting the human to his presence by opening the door by force.

This was second nature to him now, and the nap had almost completely topped him up. He was good to go on energy for now.

He steps through the stone door, and is greeted by a long passageway. The slippers give him the softness he needs against the stone to prevent echoing footsteps. The fact he had nowhere to hide made every sense he had go on high alert, making him hypervigilant to the direction he was going. As he drew in close, he could smell pastry and hear quiet but content humming. Female, older. He thought that the ruins had been all but abandoned, save for a few froggits who hadn't really understood moving out at all and whimsuns who'd been too scared to. According to Gaster, anyway, when he'd asked when he'd heard some of the older folk talking about a place called 'home' when he was younger.

He was now wishing he had asked more about it, but Gaster had made it sound real boring.

He took a few minutes to listen hard, but the sounds never drifted any closer. He crept up the stairs, glad they were carpeted stone as opposed to- shit. Wood floors. He resists the urge to sigh, and just hopes to everything that nothing creaks. He's lucky until he reaches the hallway, and the floor gives a quiet creak.

"My child? Are you back from picking flowers already?" He hears footsteps come towards his direction, heavy but muffled. Fur or some sort of material. He doesn't have time to think about it. He moves faster than he ever has, diving for the first door and opening and closing it as softly as he physically can and making a snap decision. It's perfect. He carefully squeezes himself under the bed, and holding his breath so as not to move a… hehe, muscle. Put that in the save pile, along with being a monster under the bed. That's hilarious. He lets his pupils dim and go out, keeping his eyes open to watch carefully. The door opens softly, he can see big white fluffy paws step into the room.

"My child? No, not in here. Hmm, maybe these old ears are playing tricks on me. That could become… ear-ritating!" She laughs to herself, and Sans can feel a laugh within himself threatening to break his silence. He manages to hold it.

...Just.

Once she leaves the room, he slowly and quietly exhales and pushes the laugh out with it. He slides out from under the bed and takes stock of the room. The bed size and furniture is designed towards a child, there are many toys and three pairs of shoes in varied sizes. That flags with him as weird. He takes a closer look at the toys, lifting them out and suspending them in the air with blue as he examines them so as not to make noise removing them from the toybox by hand and one by one. Toys for varying ages, for both boys and girls. But one bed. The room gets weirder. He settles them back down quietly, and the tip of his finger makes its way to his teeth and tap idly as he tries putting the pieces together. They only fit in three ways.

One - there was more than one child and the family saw a lot of misfortune. Two - the owner of the house is prepared for children to visit. Three - the owner is preparing for as their child grows. Two seems the least likely, but something tells him not to discount it. Wait until he's got all the facts. He moves to the back of the room. There's dusty, empty photo frames on the chest of drawers and a crude drawing of a flower. None of this answers his questions, except the photo frames hinting more towards option one. He ignores the wardrobe as he has a feeling that's not going to open quietly. He listens through the door and quietly makes his way through to the second room. This is immediately obvious as the lady's room. The bed is large, made for an obviously bigger monster, and a bookshelf at the back. He skims the titles briefly, and she has a fair few educational books, some light comedies, one or two romance novels that have very obviously not been touched in a while and one joke book next to them. The drawer opens with a whisper, and there's a bunch of socks. His brow furrows as he thinks back to the feet he saw. Maybe she only wore them when she went out? There's so many variations here, maybe she… nah, that's just ridiculous. Who on earth would collect socks? He resists the urge to chuckle. Over to the desk, and a diary sits open.

Nope. He's not stooping that low. Not a chance.

He quietly makes his way through the house, and her humming gets slowly louder. The hall has no cover and if he had a heart it would be jackhammering. He steps to the middle of the hall and slowly leans forward so he can see what he can of the room it leads into. She's not in sightline so he makes his way to the entrance, which stands open and doorless. Obviously she wasn't too worried about security out here. Sans starts to slowly make his way through the ruins, trying to take in everything there is to see. The switch puzzle is not so much of a puzzle as a seeking game, but perhaps that's because he's going from back to front maybe? The cavern has been fairly linear with few branching paths. He finds a hall that the floor is cracked and the place looked like it was crumbling, but after a few moments, it becomes clear the sheer amount of holes are just really, really old school puzzles. These are from before all the new tech, and he can't help but grin as he thinks about how much Pap would be delighted by all this. You know, after the place was free of humans. He simply blinks to the other side and-

"Hey, mister, that's cheating! You're supposed to fall so you can see the leaves!" A small voice which sounds somewhat indignant at the little stunt he just pulled pulls his attention. She smiles at him with the air of a patient parent to a misbehaving child "Do you want me to show you how? I've never seen you here before!"

Wha-?

 **"uhh… sure. but weren't you told never to speak to strangers, kid?"**  
She's so little.  
"Uhm, well, human mommy always told me never to speak to strangers but coat momma was a stranger and she's only been real nice."  
She's babybones. Four or five maybe? That's about the height of her if she was a skeleton, but he wasn't sure if humans aged the same.  
 **"coat momma?"**  
"Yeah! Miss Toriel! She looks like a cow and goat haded a baby and grewed up real tall so that's what I called her. She thought it was funny."  
He laughs. **"that is pretty funny. hey, i guess that means you like jokes huh?"**  
Was the whole underground hitting panic stations over a _child_? That's the funniest joke he's heard in years.  
"Yes! Miss Toriel tells the bestest jokes."  
 **"is that so? did you hear the one about the skeleton who missed the party?"**  
He was so conflicted right now. She doesn't seem dangerous at all.  
"No…?"  
 **"they stayed home because they had no _body_ to go with."**  
She peels with laughter, laughing so hard she drops a few flowers. Laughter that was light and carefree in way only a child's can be.  
"Wow! You are real good at jokes too!"  
 **"yeah, i like to think so."**

He's running out of time to make a choice here. He stares through her. No exp, no love, she seems completely harmless right now. She has a cyan soul. She doesn't seem like she'd want to hurt anyone at all. But… capturing her _is_ his job.

"Mister… are you okay? You look kinda sad."

 **"never mind."** He grins at her, dropping the stare. **"that's a cool knife, what's it for?"**

"Oh! It's just a toy!" She takes it out and holds it out for him to look at, holding it by the plastic blade. The blade is covered in mud. "Miss Toriel said I could keep it as long as I didn't try to play with the monsters with it because someone might acc- ass- asicdentally get hurt. So I uses it to help dig up the big flowers that are hard to pull up."

She's pretty fucking cute. He holds it back out to her. Capturing her is his job. But… killing her is _not_. Actually, Undyne had been pretty clear on that fact. He wasn't harming a hair on this kid's head.

 **"hey kid, do you wanna see a magic trick?"** He bends his knees so he's at her height. Her eyes sparkle with excitement.  
"YES! I mean, yes please!"  
 **"can i have your flowers? i need them."**  
She holds them out to him without hesitation. He takes them, and they disappear from his hands. Her eyes grow large.  
"Wowie…" she's in quiet awe. He pulls a mirror through a small shortcut, and holds it up to her so she can see the yellow flowers now wound into her braid, via small shortcut exit points he weaves them through swiftly, that's held in place by a faded pink ribbon. They grow larger, and she has a massive grin on her face. She starts clapping. "That's so amazing! You are so… amazing! I can't wait to show Miss Toriel!"  
 **"do you want to see another one first?"**  
"You can do more?!"  
He hates himself for what he's about to do. He hates his job.  
 **"of course."** He stands up and holds his hand out, big relying on the frozen grin to not translate any of his emotions to the little one. **"but every good magician needs an assistant for the best tricks."  
** He doesn't let it tremble. He pushes his feelings aside, steeling himself.  
"Oh wow… I wanna help!"  
She hesitates before grabbing his hand, though. He thinks he knows what the problem is.  
 **"i'm sans. sans the skeleton. nice to meet'cha."** He tips her a little wink for effect, feeling his soul sink lower. He knows this gonna come up on his day to be judged. **"i'm not a stranger now, right?"**  
"Nope! That means I can help now, right?" Her grin could light a room.

 **"...of course you can."**

He opens the shortcut around them, and they blink into the throne room. He holds a finger to her lips in a quiet gesture as he sees her with about five thousand questions and comment just waiting to bubble out of her. She's a good girl, and she covers her mouth so she stays quiet and waits patiently. He wraps her soul in blue and lifts her to his shoulders. Her hands silence her giggles of delight at the wonderful magic show she was a party to.

Sans steps out from behind the throne room, munchkin on his shoulders. Now that the kid can't see his face, he lets his tumultuous dark emotions dim his pupils out of view as they'd been threatening to do for a long time.  
"Asgore!" He snaps coldly, and the giant coat monster stands and turns. The girl bounces on his shoulders in amazement.

"HEY MISTER! YOU TURNED MISS TORIEL INTO A MAN-COAT! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! YOU'RE THE BESTEST MAGICIAN EVER!"

He sees Asgore's face fall, and can see the many reasons why behind it. The child, the age, the mention of his wife, everything was written on it plain to see. Not that the kid seems to notice. He sets her down with blue magic again, gently, but holds her hand for a moment. He bends down to her. It takes effort for him to blink his pupils back in before he does. **"i need to speak with mr. coat for a minute, okay? i'll bring him right back. you should pick some more flowers and i'll see if i can magic them anywhere else, okay?"** He winks at her, and she nods vigorously and sets about finding the best flowers to pick for more magic tricks. He edges the room around her in rows of blue bone that go from floor to ceiling, and ruffles her hair before standing. **"good girl. don't touch the blue. they're like… blue stop signs, ok?"  
** She laughs. "You're silly. Stop signs are red!"  
 **"not these ones. red stop signs are for danger... they're blue because blue means stop when it's keeping you safe. so don't touch them, 'k?"  
** "Okay!"

"Come… we should talk about this… over a cup of tea." Asgore sighs, leading the way to somewhere the child could not overhear them, as the edging of blue parts to make a path for them and closing in their wake.

As soon as they are in the room alone, every lock in the room activates with a quiet click. Sans lets every ounce of his fury onto his face now, it takes every ounce of patience he owned not to tear the giant fluffy asshole in front of him a new one.  
 **"there. there's your fucking killer, fluffybuns."** He spits the name that most of the citizens use in affectionate humour. **"i've done my job, now you do yours. she's waiting."  
** Asgore sits heavily in a chair, burying his face in his hands. "Why? Why did you bring her here? Why didn't you leave her with my wife?"  
 **"you're pulling my femur, right?"** Despite being at least twice his height, Asgore shys away from the skeleton's anger. **"ok, lets list the reasons shall we? is that what you want?"  
** "No." Asgore hangs his head. Good. Sans feels his soul stir within him, which pushes him to continue.  
 **"tough shit. reason number 1. we need seven of those to break the barrier and get us out of this forsaken pit, or are you countin' on my father to do that for you? reason number 2."** He counts them off on his fingers as speaks, the digits flicking up with force. **"humans are all bad. They trapped us down here but more importantly I heard a story once, that because a couple of them killed your son they're all bad and all deserve death. That _was_ the trigger to starting your war against humanity, correct? anyway. ****reason number 3. they're dangerous beasts. they're not made of kindness or compassion or mercy like monsters are. they're evil. reason number 4."  
** "You _DARE_ bring up Asriel? You weren't even there!" He takes a breath to regain his composure and temper himself. Him getting angry as well would not help calm the situation. Sans struck to hurt, and he had. He remembered how upset Gaster would be after an argument, as rare as they were over the years considering the amount of times he had tried to convince the scientist to take the boy home to recouperate. "I understand how you feel, but-"  
 **"Reason. Number. 4. they're killers, aren't they? they're dangerous. isn't that correct?"** Sans continues like he hadn't even spoken. Asgore goes to say something, and stops. Sans throws one of the empty chairs against the wall with blue, hand jerking out with the force of the anger flowing through him. He shoves his hands back in his pockets before he loses his cool further. **'i went out there because I was told that the kid out there was a killer! that the thing out there picking flowers in your throne room was going to kill me, and going to kill my brother."  
** "They're not all good like this one-"  
 **"and they are not all bad, either, and if anyone else had found her she would have been dead by now. you can go to hell if you think I am touching one hair on that kid's head."  
** "I won't ask you to."  
 **"you've asked exactly that of the _entire_ underground! how many souls have you blackened on you own account, asgore?"  
**"I… I am the only one to actually kill the humans so far."  
 **"that doesn't make it better."  
** "I KNOW!" Asgore thumps a hand down on the table, every word had been cutting him deep and he wanted them to stop. It was like being flayed and having every single hidden hurt inside him put on for show. "I am your king, Sans, and you have no right to-" he stops, seeing the eye sockets fixated on him right now and feeling his skin under his fur crawl. He'd heard about the weight of the skeleton's stare as he read your soul. It was another thing to feel it.  
 **"i have _every_ right. you remember papyrus, right? child you held and played with when you visited? the coolest and kindest monster in this pit? well. let me tell you something that you may or may not know... he's out there right now-"  
**Asgore's face drops. The crawling intensifies - he suddenly realises why this has got Sans so wound up - and it's not intensified by Sans himself. "Sans, I-"  
 **"-setting up to capture this human. now, the likelihood of this is pretty much nothing. but. do you know why he's out there right now?"  
** Asgore sees yellow for a split second. It makes his breath catch. "He's a sentry."  
 **"50g to fluffybuns for the correct answer. and he's hoping to be a part of your royal 'guard', he's hoping this will be his big break. i will _not_ let you break his soul and turn him into a killer of innocent children."  
**"I would never… and undyne… she's already told me she isn't..."  
 **"so what do you tell him then? what am _i_ supposed to tell him after his heart is broken because he's either told he's not good enough and that he's too nice to be in the guard -which he is good enough, more than good enough- or because the people he idolises are actually worse people than the ones that they're being told to capture and kill."  
**"I… I am truly sorry…"  
 **"i know."** He lifts the locks, bulk of his anger having run its course. **"it's a good thing i'm not your judge, because you'd be burning in hell for your sins."**

Asgore says nothing. He agrees and his face shows it.

 **"just go and kill the kid. show everyone how much king asgore cares about them and their freedom. i'm done with this. i've gotta go sort my brother out."**

He exits the room, and by the time Asgore goes out there's no sign that Sans was even there.

With a heavier heart than normal, he goes back to the throne room. He sees the child's smile greet him before red stains yellow in his nightmares with the rest. she doesn't have time to scream.

 **"c'mon pap, there's always the next time."** Sans nudges him with a shoulder as they sit dangling their feet over the edge of waterfall's void. His face and voice don't betray any of the secrets he's holding inside. He keeps it light and encouraging.  
"OF COURSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT BE OUTFOXED BY A HUMAN AGAIN! ...I JUST... DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE HUMAN MANAGED TO GET ALL THE WAY TO THE CASTLE WITHOUT ANYONE SEEING THEM."  
 **"eh, you know. tiny humans have light feet-"**  
"SANS, NO."  
 **"-and they'll keep you on your toes."** Sans yes.  
"AAAAAHHH! THIS DAY CAN'T GET ANY WORSE!"  
 **"you know that i know my jokes are humerus..."**  
"I DISAGREE"  
 **"because you're smiling."**  
"IT'S A PITY SMILE." Sans starts chuckling, which makes Papyrus smile more, which makes Sans laugh harder and soon they're both doubled over laughing away the bad feelings.

 _This. This is my job._

 **"hey, paps, i got somethin' to show you that might cheer you up."**


	15. Chapter 15 - The core

_Plot stuff happens and bedtime stories. I couldn't imagine him reading anything else XD thanks for all the continued support guys, love you all!_

* * *

Sans feels a whole lot less bad about napping through the sentry station post or using that time to do some extra work on the side on trying to fix the feedback loop after meeting the human. Actually, he doesn't feel bad about it at all anymore. He'd gone back to the castle only once since then, and that was to find the toy knife and the ribbon, which he'd taken back to the child's room. He left them on the bed with a yellow flower and a noted that simply read 'I'm sorry' before leaving again. Someone deserved some closure, and it wasn't anyone outside the ruins. He had shown Papyrus the back trail, and his brother had declared the space 'perfect' before beginning work on an all new set of puzzles and traps for the long road to the ruins. Sans had taken some time to help him set up a sentry station made from a massive cardboard box, and then wound his brother up by simply moving his existing one from the space where it was to where it stood now. Sans had laughed when his brother declared that he had, to quote, "NO IDEA HOW YOU GOT IT HERE, BUT MOVING THE WHOLE THING IS INCREDIBLY LAZY! YOU SHOULD HAVE BUILT ANOTHER, LIKE MY OWN VERY GREAT AND WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. HONESTLY, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU? GOING THROUGH LIFE PUTTING IN THE BARE MINIMUM OF EFFORT-" He'd cut off the rest of the rant with a joke about being bone idle and how it was snow joke, and everything had felt right again.

The only reason he didn't straight up quit was because he was going to try to make sure his brother never came across a human, but for a whole different set of reasons now. Other than that, this job was completely pointless.

Sans could hear the sounds of Papyrus stirring through the walls, and he sighed at the plans in front of him. The extended deadline still wasn't long enough to essentially rebuild this from the ground up. It had taken him and his team months to get this even half right in the first place and it was as annoying as hell that it could go so wrong in less than half the time it took to get it right. Work was starting again tomorrow, and a texting notification pinged through on his phone.

*I think I've got something. My place in twenty minutes - I need to tidy the place and have a shower first o( Q A Q )o

He grabs everything and is immediately knocking on the door to her apartment. The door swings open enough that he can see her peek through, and she all but whines at him.

"I s-said twenty minutes, Sa- wait. How did you g-get here so f-f-fast?"  
 **"i know a shortcut."** He shrugs and grins at her as he makes his way in and flops onto the couch. **"go shower, i'll tidy."**  
She thinks about arguing, but than she remembers that she texted everyone, not just him. She nods and rushes out.  
He doesn't move from the couch, just opens the bedroom door, removes some clean clothes which come to his hand, and shoves everything in there. Her bedroom door slams shut, the clothes are hung on the handle, and that done he closes his eyes for a fifteen minute nap.

When everyone is here, she shows them what she's been working on. Sans sees that she's simply added to what's started being built by adding in steam direction valves to redirect excess heat build up in sharp bursts. Honestly, it's genius. For all their working on the numbers and how to adjust the whole system, not one of them had thought about something so simple.

«It's a crude solution but-»  
 **"it would buy us time."**  
"About twenty years to fix it, going on the numbers that she's got here from the redirection of the heat."  
"I-i-i…"  
"Twenty years would be long enough to let us do something else with it."  
 **"woo, look at us getting all fired up!"**  
"E-engineering has always b-been a burning passion of mine!"  
"You've taken to it like a house on fire!"  
«I'm surrounded by idiots.» Gaster sighs fondly as he signs.  
 **"nah, just a bunch of hotheads."  
** «And somehow my son turned out to be the biggest of them all.»  
They all laugh, except Alphys who's sounding a little reserved.  
 **"you two go speak to the builders and get this in place, i wanna speak to alph."  
** MG and Gaster both nod and congratulate Alphys on her work, And leave them be.

"So, what's wrong?"  
She stares at him for a moment, and starts to fidget with her tail. "G-geeze, Sans, th-there really is no g-get get anything p-p-past you is there?"  
 **"nope."** He grins at her. She sighs.  
"Wh-what if it doesn't work? A-and I didn't really solve the problem. A-all it's done is buy us t-time-"  
 **"alphys."** He sighs her name, and she looks at him. He so rarely used the whole thing. **"this is more than any of us had the thought to come up with. we were so busy trying to fix the whole thing that we didn't really think about short term solutions which are just as important. we were running out of time anyway, and if it doesn't work then we haven't lost anything."  
** "N-no, I'll just have to l-live with the f-f-failure of Gaster's hopes and d-dreams on my shoulders. And the explosion of a t-ticking timebomb."  
 **"no, it's not going to be your fault. maybe farler's for screwing up years of work."** _definitely mine for leaving before we'd finished._ **"having more time is what we were all asking for, and we just might have it."**

She sighs, but stops fidgeting with her tail.

 **"'sides, you know what time is like. it was biting us on the ass, because all it does is devour. and when it's done, it just goes back four seconds."  
** "Oh. My. God." But she laughs until she's bent double.

Man, life would be so good if he could just fix everything with laughter.

Building the exhausts into the design didn't actually take up any extra time, so a week later the whole lab is gathered for the switch on. The air is filled with an anxious excitement and everyone is buzzing with it. Gaster himself is the most fidgety Sans thinks he's ever seen him. It says a lot, but he gets it. This was literally his life's work in front of them. He reaches out to press the button to kick the machine to life, and Sans sees him hesitate briefly. He just steps closer to his father, and lets his presence calm him as much as he can. Gaster presses the button, and the sound of machinery fills the air around them. The underground, which to this point had had the previous generators which were dotted around turned off, stayed silent for a moment before the whole thing burst back into life with the most vibrancy anyone had ever seen in it. Cheers erupt through the whole cavern. Gaster's smile could probably be harnessed as it's own source of energy, Sans thinks to himself with his own proud grin. Yep, he'd missed this a lot.

 **"...so, what're we working on next?"** Gaster looks down at the top of the skeleton's skull, who was looking out at their work still.

This time, Sans allows the tight hug, even as his feet leave the ground.

Even the nagging thought of "things are too good to last" can't bring Sans down. Papyrus picks up on his improved mood too, which in turn makes the youngest skeleton more rambunctious than usual. Their house is filled with genuine laughter, even in response to the bad jokes and worse pranks. Naps are limited and Sans finds himself sleeping easily through the night with no work to do. Even Undyne on one of her nights on the couch notes that the house is much happier and that she wasn't woken by the constant stream of midnight snacks. Sans looks over at the stack of folders. Now. Now was the time. He felt like he could take anything that was thrown at him right now, and he just knows that this is gonna be the test of that. And to his credit, while it does hit his mood somewhat, it doesn't drag him under like it might have once. Mostly he felt relief that he finally knew everything that his father did. It let him really think about things with a clearer head, too, and while he couldn't totally forgive him for it yet, it started him on the road to at least thinking over it.

Yep. All in all, things were good.

He's started up another side project with the help of Alphys and Monster Guy, mostly as far as the engineering side of it went. The math side of it was all him, especially as far as quantum physics was concerned. He took his work to his father as soon as he had a solid framework to work with, and some data from the prototype. There's something about it that's bothering him, though.  
 **"hey, gaster, can you look this over?"** he asks, handing off the sheets. **"alph and dan helped me trick out my laptop, but either we calibrated wrong - multiple times - or there's something… off going on."  
** "Let me see." He holds out a hand for the papers, and gives them a quick glance. Then goes back and reads them again, slower. Multiple times. Sans just stays silent the whole time, letting him take it in. "How… did you find this?"  
 **"me, alph 'n' dan were in grillby's the other night, and we had one of those beer epiphanies and realized that if we could see how the barrier was erected, we could possibly discover a way to reverse engineer the spell harnessing the power of the human souls. and after the hangover, what we had written down seemed solid enough that it was worth looking into a bit further. we built a prototype to gather data, mostly to see if it was possible. if it was, we were gonna come to you to see if you had any ideas on how to build something to turn that data into something... watchable."  
** "Huh. Seems that interest in time might finally pay off. But… this?"  
 **"gettin' to it. we hooked up a reader that we could throw through a curve. except i didn't fully extend the curve so it couldn't fully breach to an end point. it scanned the nearest layers of the nearest times and spaces. that's… that's the data for our own."  
** "That's… concerning."  
 **"yep. i thought it was me, but it didn't matter how i recalibrated or how many times i adjusted… so it's not just me."  
** "No. This is solid. We're going to need to look into this more."  
 **"thought you might say that."** He produces a roll of blue paper. **"i'm good, but i have no idea how to start. alph and dan are drawing blanks too, but i think this is pushing their limits more because quantum ain't their field."  
** "It's not exactly mine either, Sans."  
 **"no, but you know more about it than most. definitely more than all of the engineering majors we have here."  
** "You do have a point." He conceded, taking the roll and offered pencil and starts sketching out a basic design. "Have you spoken to the others about what this means?"  
 **"no point in inciting panic before we know more. just asked them to see if they could help me create something to get more data. they drew blanks and i came here. i know you're working on a lot, but-"  
** "No, this was something I definitely needed to see."  
 **"the fracture appears pretty far down the timeline, but they seem to affect the others too."  
** "...Nothing like a head start."  
 **"that's what i thought."**

Gaster notes that there's been a decided lack of puns, and wonders how much this is actually bothering the younger of them. _It seems… important._ Words from long ago that have never been truer by what's in front of them.

"Of course I'll help."

They get the plans for the original reader from Alphys and set to work. Sans still has his sentry position and side moneymaker, and Gaster insists that they don't cut into this time - especially as he knows that he works with Papyrus and he doesn't want to take from that. He'd already taken enough of it. Which means they're both having a lot of sleepless nights. Sans just tries to catch up as much as he can on duty without getting fired, which means a lot of complaints from Papyrus. And then Papyrus getting concerned that his brother might be getting ill. Sans jokes about it and brushes it off enough that Papyrus drops the subject, but he can still feel his brother's eyes on him when he thinks that Sans isn't watching. Thankfully the machine is simple enough that it doesn't take long to build, but programming it is something else. Gaster's watching Sans work for the third day in a row, dark shadows under his eye sockets as he's typing away. Lines of data on the screen scroll past at a speed Gaster can barely keep up with, the font and words familiar but the things they are saying so beyond the realm of anything he ever thought he would be looking at that they barely make sense.

"Sans, you need to take a break. Sleep. Eat somewhere that's not in front of the screen." Home, preferably.

 **"'m okay."  
** "You said that yesterday. You need to sleep. I know you worked through the night again."  
 **"i'm _okay_."**  
"Papyrus has been calling me because you're ignoring your phone."  
 **"just tell him I'm fine and i'm working. he'll understand."** He doesn't even look away. Gaster growls in frustration.  
"No. You tell him."  
 **"fine. call him and stick him on speaker. pretty sure my phone is dead. i forgot to put it on charge."  
** It's not what he expected, but he takes the opportunity to do as he's asked and just hoping Papyrus can talk some form of sense into him. The phone's picked up on the first ring, and Gaster has a feeling that the younger brother hadn't put his phone down all day.  
"DAD? IS EVERYTHING OKAY?"  
"Not really. I'm putting you on speaker so you can talk some sense into your brother." He puts the phone on speaker and holds it out to Sans. He ends up holding it through the call, Sans only sparing it enough attention to be able to engage in the conversation.  
 **"no sense needed talking into me, bro, i'm fine. 'least i'm not slacking off?"  
** "I WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU, BUT I AM WORRIED RIGHT NOW. YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HOME IN THREE DAYS! YOU NEVER MISS BEDTIME!"  
 **"sorry, pap, i'll make it up to ya. i'll read ya a story for every night i've missed. how's that sound?"  
** "IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE STILL TYPING." Sans chuckles a little, able to imagine the look on his face by the tone. "BUT OKAY. AS LONG AS IT'S NOT TOO MUCH LONGER."  
 **"shouldn't be. i have a feeling that dad might get in the royal guard to punish me for resisting a rest soon."  
** "THAT WAS… WORSE THAN NORMAL. PLEASE GET SOME SLEEP."  
 **"never thought I'd hear you tell me that. now i'll never sleep again because you just made all my dreams come true."  
** "NYEH! WHY DO YOU INSIST ON BEHAVING LIKE THIS?"  
 **"i can hear you smiling."**  
"...I AM AND I HATE IT."  
 **"hehe. ok pap, i gotta get back to this, i'll see ya soon. convince dad to stop riding my tailbone when he says bye."** He narrows his focus back in, and Gaster just sighs as he puts the phone back on handset mode and lifts it to his ear.  
"SORRY."  
"No, I didn't think it was going to work." Gaster sighs. "You tried your best. Goodnight Papyrus, you should try getting some sleep yourself."  
"NYEHEHEHEHE I AM TOO BUSY FOR SLEEP MYSELF! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE STRATEGISE FOR BEING IN THE ROYAL GUARD." Gaster resists the urge to tell him to put the toys away and get some damned sleep. He only has the energy to argue with one son at a time.  
"Okay, Papyrus. Try to get at least some, I might need you to come drag your brother away."  
"OKAY! I HOPE HE FINISHES BEFORE IT REACHES THAT POINT, BUT I AM VERY GOOD AT DRAGGING HIM AWAY FROM THE GREASE PIT HE CALLS A BAR SO I AM VERY WELL PRACTISED! IF YOU NEED ME, JUST CALL THE GREAT PAPYRUS! GOODNIGHT!" The call ends, and Gaster tucks the phone away. Sans spares enough energy and focus for a chuckle.  
"What?"  
 **"i'm gonna ask santa to get you some for gyftmas. maybe strategising would have made that go better."  
** "Sans. This is not a laughing matter."  
 **"was pretty funny from my end."** Gaster throws his hands up for lack of any other response, having reached the end of his tether. **"when you storm out, i'm out of coffee again. something to eat wouldn't go amiss either."  
** "Mmmmm... fine." Gaster stalks off, completely unimpressed about how that just turned out. He contemplates getting Papyrus in to remove him from the chair, but he knows the minute he's left unattended he will just come straight back here anyway.

The data stops making sense halfway through day four. The food had pretty much stopped topping up his energy, and his eye sockets were bleary and refused to stay open long enough to make the code and commands he was trying to type in make sense. And if they don't make sense, that means they weren't going to work. He needed to finish this. He needed to see-  
He feels himself list sideways, and then hands holding him up. He takes his heavy body out of the supporting hands, trying to focus back on the screen, but the chair he's sat on rolls away from the screen with a sharp jerk.  
 **"no, i… 'm... fine. i'm… so close…"  
** "Stop. Just… stop. I'm putting an end to this foolishness now, before you start doing yourself some real harm."  
 **"...'s…"** he doesn't finish before he lists again, tipping forward this time. Gaster catches him, and scoops him into his arms. He feels his son push away, or try to, sleep making his body clumsy and weak. **"fine… 'mtakenap."** He mumbles and his body relaxes finally. Gaster sighs, and texts papyrus that his brother's finally sleeping but not to worry about coming as he shouldn't be disturbed to let him sleep as long as possible.

So, naturally, Papyrus turns up at the lab anyway. Gaster expected as much, really, meeting him out in the hall having gone to grab a blanket.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME TO KEEP WATCH WHILE YOU GET SOME REST TOO. NAGGING MY BROTHER TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF CAN GET VERY… TIRING."  
Gaster laughs quietly. "You are not wrong. Very well, I shall return tomorrow. I trust you can ensure he gets at least eight hours - this is not a crash, merely exhaustion so I doubt it will be more than fifteen if his body needs to catch up - and ensure he eats something before continuing?"  
"BUT OF COURSE! I SHALL NOT FAIL!"  
"Good. You really are the best brother he could have."  
"NYEHEHEHEHE! AGAIN I SAY OF COURSE! GO REST, I HAVE THINGS ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVELY IN HAND!"  
Gaster has no doubts about that, and goes to get something more than a snatched nap to the sound of keyboard strokes. Eight hours actually sounds pretty darn good right now.

Sans bolts upright around hour six, panic flooding his soul. **"oh shit, i fell asl-"** hands are on his chest trying to lay him back down. He lays back down, more because he wasn't expecting that to happen.  
"THAT'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH SLEEP, BROTHER. YOUR LAZY BONES NEED MORE THAN THAT."  
 **" _papyrus_." **He complains, trying to sit up again. With no success.  
"THE MACHINE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. AND YOU'RE NOT EITHER. GO BACK TO SLEEP BEFORE I AM FORCED TO TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES!"  
 **"pap, no. i gotta-"  
** "DRASTIC MEASURES IT IS! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY SPECIAL ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH!"  
wha-?  
He feels his brother jump on the couch next to him, and curl his feet up so Sans is wrapped in a Papyrus coccoon, curled up with his face in his chest. He hears a page turn.

"THE CATS NESTLE CLOSE TO THEIR KITTENS. THE LAMBS HAVE LAID DOWN WITH THE SHEEP."  
The rhythm of Papyrus' breathing as he reads from the book with gusto starts pulling him back towards drowsiness. What was this one? He'd not certainly not read it for Papyrus before…  
"YOU'RE COZY AND WARM IN YOUR BED MY DEAR. OH, HANG ON- YOU'RE COZY AND WARM ON THE COUCH MY DEAR. PLEASE GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP."

Sans bursts out laughing, hard enough to rattle both of their bones.

"UNDYNE SAID YOU WOULD LIKE THIS ONE!" He can hear Papyrus grinning.  
 **"i'm gonna have to talk to her about what she's teaching you. it's so wrong hearing you say that word."**  
"ONCE YOU SLEEP, YOU CAN SAY WHATEVER TO WHOEVER. BUT FOR NOW… THE WINDOWS ARE DARK IN THE TOWN CHILD-" the story continues. Hearing Papyrus reading the curse words is equal parts weird and hilarious, and he says them so innocently that Sans has a hard time imagining that he actually knows what they mean. But through the rhythmic reading of the pages and the way his brother's chest moves… and the fact he literally can't disentangle himself from Papyrus even if he wanted to right now (and he kind of doesn't), he finds his tired mind and body relaxing back towards sleep. ** _heh, okay pap, i'm going the fuck to sleep._**

Papyrus feels Sans slip back into sleep, breathing slow and even, and dares not move himself from around his brother. He has little inclination to, either, if he was being entirely honest. He's a good brother, and while Sans sleeps he sits and imagines battle scenarios for when the next human comes and other such things to keep boredom away, but he doesn't fall asleep himself. He had a job to do and he was going to do it.

Gaster comes back before Sans wakes again, the days of endless work having caught up to him. Gaster was only out about seven and a half hours himself, meaning he's back at the lab in eight and a half, but Papyrus had a feeling that he's also been getting more sleep than the bundle he's guarding right now. It's just under an hour more after Gaster arrives back before Sans stirs and wakes again - more gently this time, though. He stretches out with a yawn, feeling groggy but refreshed, then spots the expression Gaster is wearing as he looks at the two of them.  
 **"not a word. it's pap's special attack."  
** "OH BROTHER, YOU ARE AWAKE NOW!"  
"How are you feeling?"  
 **"better."** He tries to get up and finds he's allowed this time. **"two against one is unfair, you know."  
** "Well, He came to help so I let him."  
"AND WHEN YOU ARE STUBBORN ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE, IT'S NOT UNFAIR!" Gaster laughs from the chair he's sat in. "...WHY HAS WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING GOT YOU SO SPOOKED, SANS?"  
Sans freezes, and Gaster raises an eyebrow. Huh. Seems that Sans is not the only observant one, he just wears it clearer on his sleeve. At least as far as themselves are concerned.  
 **"i'm not…"** he trails off as he stares into Papyrus' concerned face and eye sockets. **"i don't know."**

He hears both of them sigh in frustration, and he rolls his pupils at the response.

"HMM...I'M GOING TO GET YOU SOME FOOD AND WHILE I DO, YOU THINK ABOUT THAT ANSWER FOR WHEN I ASK YOU AGAIN."  
That reminds Sans that his brother is on three days of missed bedtime stories. Three days worth of grumpy now Sans' feeling better. ** _._ _..hooray_**. Now Papyrus is gone, Sans crosses to where Gaster is, looking over his shoulder at what's on screen. Gaster simply tilts his head, blocking his view.  
 **"could you not."  
** "Once you've eaten, you can continue."  
 **"goddamn it, gaster, pap's getting food right now. time is literally the one thing you can't get back."  
** "And yet that's what you seem to be doing anyway." Sans narrows his eye sockets at him. "Did you think I can't read code? You might have been programming fast, but I caught enough."  
 **"i have no idea what you are talk-"  
** " _Bullshit_."  
Sans meets his eyes, pupils flaring with frustration. **"i have no idea what you are talking about! getting time back? just reading the lines is close to insanity, and trying to see them more so. what you're talking about is well over that line!"  
** "Why won't you just tell me what you're actually trying to do?"  
 **"i told you!"** his pupils drop out without him even thinking about it, he reaches that peak of frustration, and the look makes Gaster pause. He makes a decision, stands, and moves out of the way of the screen.

"If you're being honest… you need to look back over your code from yesterday."

Sans blinks at him in confusion, then takes his seat. He scrolls up through reams of code and-  
"I THOUGHT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EATING FIRST?!" papyrus exclaims sounding extremely frustrated. He hands the meal to Sans forcefully, thrusts one at Gaster, then throws himself onto the couch with a sulking air. Sans sighs and starts eating as he reads back. The fork pauses halfway to his mouth on the second bite and he puts it down and starts skipping up through blocks of code until he finds what he's looking for.

This is not his code. Not all of it.

His finger taps on his teeth as he takes in the code interweaved with his own, meal forgotten about until Papyrus starts nagging. He eats distractedly, until he ends up bringing an empty fork to his mouth. He hands the plate off to Gaster without looking away.  
 **"i need my laptop. it's at home in my roo-"  
** "I'LL GET IT. I MAY AS WELL, YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME ANYTHING ANYWAY!" He flounces out, having reached his limit, and Sans turns to look helplessly at Gaster.  
"I'll go calm him down." Gaster sighs wearily, running a hand over his face before following his younger son. Sans turns back to the screen.

A new line of text has appeared. Then another and another, flickering into life through static until finally the screen reads:

*CONTINUE STARING INTO THE ABYSS AND IT WILL STARE BACK  
*YOU WILL FIND MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS  
*THEY WILL NOT BE THOSE YOU SEEK  
*IT GROWS DARKER YET DARKER  
*YOU MUST CONTINUE  
*BUT SOMETIMES TO GO FORWARD YOU MUST GO BACK  
*THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET VERY VERY INTERESTING  
*I CAN HELP  
*WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK  
*SANS

An ache starts in his skull as he reads, and by the end it's like a migraine, reading his own name is like a knife blade through the skull. He uses the palms of his hands to try amdassage the pain out of his skull, and before he knows it he has two pairs of hands upon him.

"Sans!"  
"BROTHER!"  
 **"i hate riddles."** He sighs, pain finally abating somewhat.  
"What happened?"  
 **"see for yourself."** He gestures at the screen.  
"THERE'S… ONLY YOUR CODE. I THINK. THIS IS TOO MUCH SCIENCE FOR EVEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO HANDLE. COOL GUYS DON'T DO SCIENCE."  
 _ **yeah, that's totally the reason pap. Wait-** _**"nothing there?"  
** "...No. I'm really starting to think that we need to put a stop to this project "  
 **"no, we can't. we need to do this. i need to do this."  
** "DAD EXPLAINED SOMEWHAT. I KNOW YOU THINK THIS TIME STUFF IS IMPORTANT, AND I AM PROUD OF YOU FINALLY FINDING MOTIVATION TO DO MORE THAN NAP, BUT … THIS IS NOT HEALTHY."  
 **"i'll be fine, bro. headache's gone."  
** "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT." He narrows his eye sockets at Sans as if trying to see if he was going to fall apart at any moment. Heck, he probably was checking him for exactly that. "YOU WERE… BETTER. AND I… I AM… WORRIED THAT YOU'RE GOING TO… UNDO THAT."  
 **"i still feel that way, pap. things are good, ok? and dad'll stop me if i slide. so… don't worry. i just… i have to do this. i can't ignore this. ok?"  
** "DO YOU PROMISE?"  
 **"pap…"  
** "I KNOW YOU HATE THEM BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO WORRY THEN YOU'VE GOT TO PROMISE."  
He sighs in defeat. He's made too many recently. He needs to stop that. **"...fine."  
** "OKAY THEN!" Papyrus smiles, satisfied. He hands over the laptop with no further hesitation. "HERE YOU ARE! NOW I HAVE TO GO TO SENTRY DUTY, UNDYNE SAID I HAD A BAJILLION DAYS OFF TO TAKE SO NOT TO WORRY BUT I CAN ONLY NEGLECT MY DUTIES FOR SO LONG. I WILL LET HER KNOW YOU ARE FEELING BETTER TOO, BUT SHE TOLD ME NOT TO TELL YOU SHE WAS ASKING SO DON'T LET HER KNOW THAT YOU KNOW, OKAY?"  
Sans and Gaster both chuckle at that.  
"Good job on that, Papyrus."  
"SHE LIKES SANS A LOT MORE THAN SHE LETS ON, BUT THAT'S JUST UNDYNE. BEING FRIENDS WITH HER IS LIKE TRYING TO PET A HEDGEHOG."  
Sans goes from chuckles to belly laughs. **"i always said she had a spiky personality."  
** "NYEEEEEEEEH! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN THE MOMENT?! I NEED TO GO. ANSWER YOUR PHONE THIS TIME."  
 **"ok."  
** "DON'T JUST SAY OKAY AND NOT DO IT."  
 **"ok."  
** "SANS! THIS IS WHY THE SOCK IS STILL ON THE LOUNGE FLOOR! AND WHILE I THINK ABOUT IT, PICK IT UP NEXT TIME YOU GO HOME!"  
 **"ok."**

That's the sound he was aiming for, Papyrus' angry aneurysm being music to his ears. Wait. _**angeurysm**_. How the hell had he missed that one for so long?

With a final chuckle at the thought, he grabs a desk and sets up his laptop next to the machine so he can flit between the two as needed. He first sets up a scan from the probe in the void between timelines then turns back to the screen.  
The fracture is still there, having crept closer.  
Taunting him.  
He turns back to the screen.

*ok

There's a burst of static, and his words disappear into it. Then… nothing. The screen remains unchanged, text cursor blinking at him lazily.

"What happened there?"  
 **"dunno. it seems like something or someone is in contact with the machine and they want to help. i think that the code that's been added is theirs. they say they want to help."  
** "They?"  
 **"no clue. they speak in riddles so far. i just hope they know what they're doing."  
** "Wait, you're not-"  
 **"i am."** He sets about to typing again, continuing on his end of the code. And now that he knows what he is looking for, he can see how there are minor changes to his inputs that he's entering and how the extra code is being weaved in as he types. He flicks his pupils towards the laptop every now and again, and notices the small bubble of data that briefly touched on their timeline. Data that wasn't their before. It doesn't give any information, a bubble of crap. An anomoly flickering into data as it's making contact to their space and time. Somehow, Sans just knows what that is. **"hey, buddy."**

He refocuses, and they get to work.

Gaster pulls up a seat and sits himself to observe the stream of data from the probe on the laptop while Sans is finishing up the programming, and he finds himself looking back as well as forwards. He finds a branch that comes from many years ago, a fracture in the original line it came from and his brow furrows.  
*A FORK IN THE PATH  
*BROKEN

Gaster's breath catches as the words stand out among the numbers and letters that make up what he's looking at.

*ANOMOLOUS  
*BROKEN  
*NOT YET BEYOND REPAIR  
*YOU SHARE A FATE WITH THE REST  
*YOU MUST ACCEPT  
*REPAIR

"What the hell?" Gaster asks aloud, causing Sans to look over his shoulder. He just manages to catch the words as they dissapear out of the data.  
 **"repair what?"  
** "I found a branching in the past. That's what I was looking at when the words appeared."  
Sans brow furrowed. He hadn't thought to look backwards. Mind you, from the moment he'd seen the fracture coming, everything had screamed at him to push forward and find a way to stop it. **"can you figure out when it happened?"  
** "It might be possible with some time."  
 **"do it. and see, i told you they spoke in riddles."  
** "Why… are you trusting this? We know nothing about it."  
 **"let's just say … i feel it in my gut." He grins before continuing, "it's trying to help, i think. i'm sure. see if it can help you as well. we seem to be almost finished."**

The 'we' turns something in Gaster's soul unpleasantly. He doesn't know why.

In time, he finds Sans is not wrong.

He just has to let it help.


	16. Chapter 16 - Deja who?

_Hey guys, sorry it has been so long. I havent had access to my laptop for a while so now I have it back I am going to upload a couple of chapters for you. Enjoy and thanks for the patience!  
_

* * *

Sans feels a whole lot less bad about napping through the sentry station post or usiing that time to do some extra work on the side on trying to fix the feedback loop after meeting the human. Actually, he doesn't feel bad about it at all anymore. He'd gone back to the castle only once since then, and that was to find the toy knife and the ribbon, which he'd taken back to the child's room. He left them on the bed with a yellow flower and a noted that simply read 'I'm sorry' before leaving again. Someone deserved some closure, and it wasn't anyone outside the ruins. He had shown Papyrus the back trail, and his brother had declared the space 'perfect' before beginning work on an all new set of puzzles and traps for the long road to the ruins. Sans had taken some time to help him set up a sentry station made from a massive cardboard box, and then wound his brother up by simply moving his existing one from the space where it was to where it stood now. Sans had laughed when his brother declared that he had, to quote, "NO IDEA HOW YOU GOT IT HERE, BUT MOVING THE WHOLE THING IS INCREDIBLY LAZY! YOU SHOULD HAVE BUILT ANOTHER, LIKE MY OWN VERY GREAT AND WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. HONESTLY, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU? GOING THROUGH LIFE PUTTING IN THE BARE MINIMUM OF EFFORT-" He'd cut off the rest of the rant with a joke about being bone idle and how it was snow joke, and everything had felt right again.

The only reason he didn't straight up quit was because he was going to try to make sure his brother never came across a human, but for a whole different set of reasons now. Other than that, this job was completely pointless. He pauses at the thought. This felt … familiar somehow. He shakes his head and carries on working.

Sans could hear the sounds of Papyrus stirring through the walls, and he sighed at the plans in front of him. The extended deadline still wasn't long enough to essentially rebuild this from the ground up. It had taken him and his team months to get this even half right in the first place and it was as annoying as hell that it could go so wrong in less than half the time it took to get it right. Work was starting again tomorrow, and a texting notification pinged through on his phone.

*I think I've got something. My place in twenty minutes - I need to tidy the place and have a shower first o( Q A Q )o

He grabs everything and is immediately knocking on the door to her apartment. The door swings open enough that he can see her peek through, and she all but whines at him.

"I s-said twenty minutes, Sa- wait. How did you g-get here so f-f-fast?"  
 **"i know a shortcut."** He shrugs and grins at her as he makes his way in and flops onto the couch. "Go shower, I'll tidy."  
She thinks about arguing, but than she remembers that she texted everyone, not just him. She nods and rushes out.  
He doesn't move from the couch, just opens the bedroom door, removes some clean clothes which come to his hand, and shoves everything in there. Her bedroom door slams shut, the clothes are hung on the handle, and that done he closes his eyes for a fifteen minute nap... but finds it doesn't come. When Alphys comes out of the shower in a towel, he hands her the clothes distractedly, thoughts churning.

 **"hey, alph. are you gettin' a weird feeling? like we've done this before?"**  
"What? Like… d-deja vu or something?"  
 **"kinda? but on steroids."  
** "N-not really? Mind you, I've d-dreamed about this a few t-times so maybe you're just getting a weird f-feeling from that?"  
 **"hmm. maybe."  
** "You don't s-sounded c-c-convinced."  
 **"never mind. 'm sure it'll pass."**

When everyone is here, she shows them what she's been working on. Sans sees that she's simply added to what's started being built by adding in steam direction valves to redirect excess heat build up in sharp bursts. Honestly, it's genius. For all their working on the numbers and how to adjust the whole system, not one of them had thought about something so simple.

«It's a crude solution but-»  
 **"it would buy us time."**  
"About twenty years to fix it, going on the numbers that she's got here from the redirection of the heat."  
"I-i-i…"  
"Twenty years would be long enough to let us do something else with it."  
 **"woo, look at us getting all fired up!"**  
"E-engineering has always b-been a burning passion of mine!"  
"You've taken to it like a house on fire!"  
«I'm surrounded by idiots.» Gaster sighs fondly as he signs.  
 **"nah, just a bunch of hotheads."  
** «And somehow my son turned out to be the biggest of them all.»  
They all laugh, except Alphys who's sounding a little reserved. Gaster notices Sans isn't laughing so much either.

 **"you two go speak to the builders and get this in place, i wanna speak to alph."  
** MG and Gaster both nod and congratulate Alphys on her work, And leave them be.

"So, what's wrong?"  
She stares at him for a moment, and starts to fidget with her tail. "G-geeze, Sans, th-there really is no g-get get anything p-p-past you is there?"  
 **"nope."** He grins at her. She sighs.  
"Wh-what if it doesn't work? A-and I didn't really solve the problem. A-all it's done is buy us t-time-"  
 **"alphys."** He sighs her name, and she looks at him. He so rarely used the whole thing. **"this is more than any of us had the thought to come up with. we were so busy trying to fix the whole thing that we didn't really think about short term solutions which are just as important. we were running out of time anyway, and if it doesn't work then we haven't lost anything."  
** "N-no, I'll just have to l-live with the f-f-failure of Gaster's hopes and d-dreams on my shoulders. And the explosion of a t-ticking timebomb."  
 **"no, it's not going to be your fault. maybe farler's for screwing up years of work."** _Definitely mine for leaving before we'd finished._ **"having more time is what we were all asking for, and we just might have it."**

She sighs, but stops fidgeting with her tail.

 **"'sides, you know what time is like. it was biting us on the ass, because all it does is devour. and when it's done, it just goes back for seconds."  
** "Oh. My. God." But she laughs until she's bent double.

Man, life would be so good if he could just fix everything with laughter.

It would be better still if this didn't feel so… off.

Building the exhausts into the design didn't actually take up any extra time, so a week later the whole lab is gathered for the switch on. The air is filled with an anxious excitement and everyone is buzzing with it. Gaster himself is the most fidgety Sans thinks he's ever seen him. It says a lot, but he gets it. This was literally his life's work in front of them… no, there's something else, too. He rubs at his skull, trying to get everything to make sense but nothing wants to fall into place neatly. He just steps closer to his father, watching him the closest he ever has to try and figure out what his father's behaviour and what his gut is trying to tell him, and says quietly **"this'll work."**  
"I know. It's what comes after… no, never mind." Gaster still hesitates, so Sans reaches out and presses the button, and the sound of machinery fills the air around them. The underground, which to this point had had the previous generators which were dotted around turned off, stayed silent for a moment before the whole thing burst back into life with the most vibrancy anyone had ever seen in it. Cheers erupt through the whole cavern. Gaster's smile turns enigmatic.

It was as he was told. He knows what he has to do now.

"I need to speak to the main team about something. Everyone go celebrate, Alphys you can join them - I know Sans will tell you any way so there's no need to hang around. Thank you everyone for all the hard work." He sees Sans' brow furrow deeply. "Something has been bothering you all day. For the last week or so, actually. What's wrong?"  
 **"i can't put my finger on it."  
** "What do you mean?"  
 **"for a little while, it's been feeling like we've done this all before. it's how I knew the core would work. like deja vu but… more?"** He sighs, shaking his head. **"i know it doesn't make sense. but now… the feeling's gone. it's like… something's changed and i don't know how to know if it's a good or a bad thing. i don't even know what i'm feeling in the first place... eh, it's probably nothing."  
** "Hmm." Gaster falls into thoughtfulness for a moment, and Sans expects him to explain it away with something he hadn't thought of. Or agree it was nothing and tell him not to worry about it so much. Instead, his words both surprise and chill him. "I suppose it was to be expected. You always were perceptive - too much so sometimes."

He wishes he has time to explain, but Gaster also knows that if he does, his son will absolutely try to stop what is about to happen. And besides, he doesn't remember what happened before, he just knows what he has been told to do this time and he's left the pieces in place to do it. This is the last thing.

 **"what the hell is-"** Gaster cuts him off, bending down to his height and taking his face in his hands to pull his attention. Not that it could go anywhere else right now.  
"Sans, listen to me." He feels magic enter his soul, warming it. What- "something happened that shouldn't have and it needs to be corrected. It is being corrected, in a moment. Some of us have unavoidable fates. I just… needed a minute to repair something else first. As much as possible."

Sans watches his father's right eye droop and face start to lose form.

"You will find some of the answers at home. Look for what wasn't there before. I'm sorry I don't have time to say more." The magic stops and he feels… different. His father's face looks like it's melted, but the smile on it looks… happy? He tries to push himself away, unease churning within him.  
 **"that sounds like a goodbye."  
** "No… more of a 'see you later'. I love you and your brother very much, as poorly as it translated. I am sorry for that. Now you must go. You don't need to see what's about to happen."

Sans feels the familiar pull of a shortcut, but he knows he didn't open one. He tries to go back to the core, but as he opens his own shortcut, there's a feedback through his magic and his eye as it feels like something rips apart.

Gaster lets a tear fall as he looks at the empty space that held his eldest son. The team come into the space where now only he stood as he lets magic flow into the space by the core, starting to build and overload the system. An alarm starts to blare, and the team all look to him as he pays it no mind.  
"Doc…?"

Sans collapses in pain, and can only gasp for air on the floor and pray that it doesn't kill him. _So much pain._

"It's nothing to worry about. I am sorry, but you are all a part of something bigger at play. Your fates are as intertwined with it as my own." A warning light starts going off. They move to try and fix it. He holds them in place with his magic, letting the core take that also.

 _Too much pain._

"I told you it's nothing to worry about. This is how it's supposed to go. This… is how it's always supposed to go. My apologies, but if it's any consolation… your families will not mourn." There's a touch of bitterness as he knows that cannot be said for his own, but hopefully with the boost, his son will at least live through the loss.

He passes out on the floor in his room as it feels like something beyond the world is ripping his soul apart at the magical seams.

His boys are the last thing in Gaster's mind as the abyss swallows them whole, safe in the knowledge that this is how things have to be.


	17. Chapter 17 - adjustment periods

Sans woke slowly, and although he hadn't been out long, literally minutes, it was like he'd just had the hardest crash of his life. Why had he…

Oh shit.

 _Dad._

He immediately opened and dove through a shortcut to the open core platform, but it lay deserted. No, deserted didn't feel like the right word. Just… empty. Feeling panic in his chest, he turns tail runs back towards the lab. The celebration was in full swing, as the doors opened, cheers rung out and excited, tipsy scientists try to pull him into the crowd. He forces a smile to his face and asks **"has anyone seen gaster?"** He manages to keep the panic out of his voice and off his face as people start shrugging and asking the next person. Eventually someone presses a drink into his hand and tells him to search for his friend later. It's like someone has drenched him in ice water and something must finally show through on his face because like the angel from above that she is, Alphys manages to break through the crowd and tug him clear of it. She pulls him along by the hand and takes him into a seperate and empty area.

"C-come on, Sans, I know y-you don't need t-to breathe b-but it'll help. R-remember what you t-t-tell me. In, five, a-and out. R-ride it out." Until she said it, he hadn't noticed that the breathing reflex had stopped. She watches as he struggles to start it again, and puts his hand on her chest, taking deep breaths herself. It helps him focus and soon he's starting again, slow and rhythmic. She's right, it helps. A little, anyway. They stay like that for what feels like hours, but in reality is probably only minutes. "What's g-g-going on, Sans? This is n-not like you a-at a-a-all." She's really worried, she's never seen him lose his cool like this. She knows something big must have happened, and the only thing she can think of that would cause him to hit panic stations would be- "Did something h-happen t-to P-p-papyrus?"

Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshit. He hadn't thought to even check, he needs to- he grabs for his phone and Alph takes it in her hands as he's shaking so hard he can't even hold it properly. She types out a quick message, and it chimes back at her almost immediately. She focuses back in on Sans.

"H-hey! S-sans! You n-n-need to s-speak to me! You've d-d-done this f-for m-me loads of t-times. Y-You know what th-this is. T-t-tell me wh-what it is."  
He takes a heaving breath, trying to pull himself away from the second one that threatened to pull him back under. "Anxiety attack."  
"And what are we d-doing?"  
 **"...breathing."  
** "A-and?"  
 **"talking."  
** "A-about?"  
 **"you pick."  
** "...The e-elephant who's … c-car broke down."  
 **"why?"  
** "n-not sure b-but they found h-his engine in his t-trunk."  
There's a pause. Two. Then, despite it all, a snicker comes from him. She grins, happy at the response.  
"A b-blind man walks into a b-bar. And a t-table. And a chair."  
A snicker turns into a chuckle, then a laugh.

Soon they're both laughing.

"...Thanks Alph."  
"n-no problem. And p-p-papyrus is okay. He t-texted me b-back almost st-straight away. He asked if you were still out celebrating your science th-thingy so I said yes."  
 **"did you text gaster as well? or see him at all?"  
** "...who?"  
 **"al... i love you… but don't play with me right now."  
** "I-i-i'm n-not! T-t-tell me who he i-is and m-maybe I c-can help?"  
 **"doctor w.d. gaster? royal scientist? person you have idolised since you hatched out of your little dino egg? my dad? fucking hell, al."** He buries his face in his hands when she looks at him completely confused. **"ugh... what did he do?"  
** "S-sorry… if it h-helps at all, that p-position has been e-empty s-since as long as anyone can r-remember." she starts wringing her hands together, at a loss for what to do. "A-actually, I g-guess it's k-kinda your job since you've a-always been here? I d-don't remember you… I m-mean it's always been y-you and P-Papyrus, right?"  
 **"it... doesn't. ok. just… go back to the party. sorry i snapped. i'll … i'll figure this out. somehow."  
** "Sans…  
 **"please... just go... thanks for the help."**

She hands him his phone back and starts towards the door, and hovers by it when she gets there looking unsure as to whether leaving him alone is the best thing right now. But she leaves anyway. The minute she's gone, he tiredly opens a portal and steps back into his room.

 _You'll find some of the answers at home. Look for what wasn't there before._

More riddles. Joy.

Wait.

 _More_ riddles? What?

The light catches a gleam of silver from where he's stood mulling over the words and he finds a small, silver key on the chest of drawers with a folded piece of paper. It's a picture Papyrus had drawn when he was still a babybones of the three of them.  
 **"the hell did you do? i feel like i'm going nuts here, dad."  
** He slips both in his pocket and begins searching the entire house, and the key goes to a grand total of nothing. He doesn't find anything out of place, either. In fact, he tears the entire house apart trying to find anything and nothing is there at all. He's in the middle of chucking all the stuff in his room out of it when the front door slams open.

"WHAT HAPPENED IN- SANS ARE YOU HOME? THIS IS A NEW LEVEL OF UNTIDINESS, EVEN FOR YOU! AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NOT BE CLEARIMG UP A SINGLE THING. PICK UP AFTER YOURSELF FOR A CHANGE! NYEH HEH HEH!"  
Sans dives out of his room, nearly ending up toppling over the banister he runs into it so hard. **"pap! You gotta help me find what this key goes to! Dad left it-"  
** "WHAT KEY? WHAT DAD? ARE YOU… PLAYING ONE OF YOUR PRANKS? BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS ONE."  
 **"no, no, _no_! not you too… damn it all!"** He heads back into his room, slamming the door behind him in his hurry, and continues tearing it apart in his quest to find what the key belongs to. He hears his room's door open softer than usual.  
"BROTHER, DID YOU LOSE SOMETHING? YOU REALLY SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL… IF YOU WERE MORE TIDY, YOU- ARE YOU LISTENING?"  
 **"no and yes, in that order. if you're gonna nag, do that and look."  
** "LOOK FOR WHAT?"  
 **"i don't know! something that wasn't there before. that's what he said."  
** "WHAT WHO SAID?"  
 **"oh for- dad. _gaster?_ "  
**He feels hands grab him and hold him firmly in place. "SANS. I SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE."  
 **"you… do?"**  
"YES. YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING TOO HARD AND YOUR USUALLY LAZY BODY AND BRAIN AREN'T COPING WITH THE STRESS. ARE YOU HAVING-"  
 **"No."** He doesn't even notice his pupils have dimmed from his stress and frustration levels hitting peaks.  
"DON'T MAKE THAT FACE AT ME, SANS, IT'S NOT AS SPOOKY AS PEOPLE SAY IT IS. AND PUPILS OR NOT, YOU NEED TO STOP THIS."  
 **"let me go, papyrus."  
** "NO! YOU NEED A TIME-OUT. AND I-" He picks up Sans and puts him over his shoulder. "-KNOW EXACTLY THE PLACE, EVEN IF IT IS A DISGUSTING GREASE PIT, NYEHEHEHE."

"...Aren't you normally carrying him out?"  
 **"pap, I swear-"  
** "YEP! BUT TODAY HE NEEDS A TIME-OUT. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THIS BUT I THINK MY BROTHER HAS BEEN WORKING TOO HARD." Papyrus places his brother on a barstool. "HE KEEPS TALKING ABOUT A KEY AND A ...GASTY?"  
 **" _gaster._ and you were college buddies with him grillbz, you gotta know-"** Grillby is already shaking his head. his soul sinks further and his head hits the bar. He has a headache, the cool wood is not helping it ease.  
"Sorry, Sans, I don't know anyone by that name. Anything I can keep a look out for?"  
 **"he's another skeleton so that's a dead give away."  
** "WE ARE… I MEAN… WE'RE THE ONLY TWO LEFT."  
"He's right… I'm sure I've told you this before."

Why? Why did no-one remember him?  
More importantly: _why am I the only one who does?_

He lifts his head and props his forehead in his hand, taking the weight on his elbow on the bar and massages the front of his skull trying to figure some of this out. Any of this out.

"You should eat least eat, Sans."  
He opens one eye socket and sees food had been placed in front of him. He pushes the plate away from him with the hand not holding his head up. He can feel both pairs of concerned of eyes on him.  
 **"'m gonna take a walk."** He hops down from the barstool and starts to make his way out. He hears Papyrus start to follow, probably to stop him.

Papyrus is left looking around at empty snow, confused, even though his brother was literally 3 foot ahead of him by the time he's opening the door out of Grillby's.

Sans didn't actually shortcut far, just to the back of the house. He just needed some time alone for a while, having people around wasn't helping him figure this out. He ended up sitting out the back until the snow literally started forming a pile on him and his clothes were soaked. He'd got nowhere, chasing his head in circles and unable to give any sense of logic to today's events. Actually, he's half convinced that his father had just managed to pull his greatest prank ever and he'd go to the lab tomorrow and he'd just be sat there pretending not to know what Sans was on about when he tears him a new one for this.

And yet, somehow, he knew that was wishful thinking.

He sighs and heaves himself up, shaking himself off and plodding around the house. And he freezes, spotting something… off. It was hard to see without really looking, but once he'd spotted it, it was hard to unsee. He moves closer to the dark spot, and realises it's a… keyhole. Oh. OH. He reaches inside his pocket and grabs the key, and inserts it into the lock. It turns with a quiet click, and the side of the house swings open to reveal a staircase that goes down. He scans left and right and steps down, shutting the door behind him. As soon as the door is shut, lights power on and despite his soft footfalls, the sound of them echo lightly. He reaches the new room under the house, and cannot believe his eyes. It's empty save for a single machine and a rolled up blueprint on the side. The machine gives him another bout of that deja-vu like feeling as he takes in the sight of it. As if by pure muscle memory, he turns it on and types in a command for the logs of it's last uses. The machinery is like nothing he's seen but he may as well have built the damned thing for how second nature it is to navigate it. No, using the machine is not the problem. The problem is that the logs have been corrupted, and if the data isn't redacted then it's just straight up missing. It shows it has been used a lot since the initial programming, and there seems to have been two if not three users - all using the wingdings font so one was for certain his father but the other main user wrote very similar, if not more cryptically, from what he could piece together. Which, admittedly, was frustratingly little. Instead, he pulls up the command box and starts to try and restore the corrupted data. A message appears.

*DO NOT  
*THINGS ARE INCOMPLETE  
*THINGS ARE FATED

He ignores it, and continues the command codes.

*NOT YET TIME  
*NOT YET BROKEN  
*WAIT  
*YOU WANTED MY HELP  
*LISTEN

It's so achingly familiar, and yet so different. He's sick of that feeling. A small warning light goes off on the machine as a prompt pops up: 'restore timeline data'. Time… line? His head hurts. He feels like he should know this.  
*NOT READY YET  
He tells it to restore, and the alarm blares loudly, then stops in a massive shower of sparks erupts from the machine as he pulls away and covers his face.

Welp.

He removes what panels he can, and curses to himself. Almost everything is completely fried. He's got … something. A word that he only _possibly_ knows what to do with. But it's better than nothing. The room under the house is a wealth of evidence that his father had existed just by existing itself… so now it was just to find out why that changed. How that changed. And fix it.

He pulls out his phone and texts Alphys. He'd have texted Dan as well, but his phone doesn't hold the number anymore. Sans doesn't have the energy to question it. Now that the initial wave has passed, he's starting to just feel tired.

*got a project if you want to help  
*OMG really? Already?  
*feeling much better. but not for a couple of days anyway. Need to prep.  
*Hmm -_-  
*It's better than sitting around feeling sorry for myself?  
*HMM ¬_¬  
*If it comes to anything you can use it to help get the royal scientist job.  
*WTF?! That big?  
*i said help build something cool, you're good at that. and you'll be building something cool for me, too, so you'll have two cool things to show mr. dreemy.  
*OMFG HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?! D8  
*i know a bit about everything  
*I don't doubt it o_o  
*also you left your notebook open on the table when I helped you tidy up  
*OH GOD  
*YOU SAW NOTHING ( /) - (\ )  
*5g says i didn't  
*That's… cheap  
*sorry, autocorrect. i meant 50g  
*Sans  
*500g  
*Please STOP  
*5000g  
*fine, I'll help.  
*pretty sure bribery is illegal -_-  
*only if you tell on me  
*...How did I know that's what you were going to say?

He locks the door as he leaves, chuckling a little at the last text. He walks in through the front door, straight past Papyrus, straight past all the mess and goes to his room to lay on his bed and pass the hell out. He figures he's earned that much. Sleep isn't an easy affair tonight, though, finding himself restless and waking as every time he dreams he sees the meeting face of Gaster. But as much as he's expecting the emotional void to swallow him whole, he finds he doesn't get that reprieve; grief leaving him feeling shredded and raw now that he has nothing to distract him. He pretends to be asleep when Papyrus checks on him a few times, anyway, wanting to be alone to grieve the man only he knows. The emotional void never quite opens, but he feels listless and drained for the next couple of days. He ignores all the food Papyrus brings in, all the attempts to engage him in conversation. He cries once, when he's sure Papyrus is out of the house. Ripping sobs that pass quickly, but they feel cathartic in a way he didn't expect. Emotions flit between dull and burning white hot pokers. But the void doesn't come, nor does it gnaw at him slowly like it did. He examines his soul on the second day, summoning it after his catharsis moment, and it looks like the little white upside monster heart he always sees until he lets it flow back into him.

...What had he been expecting to see?

He should read the folders. He stays in bed.

"...SANS? YOU SHOULD AT LEAST EAT SOMETHING." Papyrus sounds concerned. He manages a shrug. Papyrus takes this as an encouraging thing. "I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS PERSON IS YOU WERE LOOKING FOR, BUT YOU CAN STILL TALK TO ME ABOUT THEM. I'M SORRY I DON'T REMEMBER - WHICH IS ODD BECAUSE NORMALLY I AM VERY EXCELLENT AT REMEMBERING THINGS."

 _Talk to him._ It's less of a thought and more of a push from his soul. He tries to ignore it but his soul and his mind seem to be against wallowing in the darkness because before he knows it, he's sat upright. He doesn't say anything just yet, but Papyrus seems pleased.  
 _what's the point?  
and read the folders.  
what's the **point**?  
_"BROTHER?"

"can you… bring the folders from the drawers?"

"YOU MEAN THE ONES YOU THREW ACROSS THE ROOM WHEN YOU WRECKED THE HOUSE?" Sans is almost sure he's teasing, but there's a small needle in the tone as well. Sounds like Papyrus has probably cleaned the house while he's been wallowing. Whoopsie. But his tone brightens anyway, just happy at the prospect of sans doing, well, anything. He really hates Sans' 'days', even if this episode had been slightly different. No, not episode. he hates that word for them. "OF COURSE! ALTHOUGH BE WARNED, IF THIS IS A CLEVER RUSE TO GET ME TO TIDY UP IN HERE AS WELL, I WILL NOT BE FOOLED! NYEHEHEHEHEHE  
"The teasing had lost it's edge and was just that this time. Sans decides to throw his brother a bone before he even knows what he's saying or about to say. **"nah, they were… written by gaster. the guy I'm looking for."  
** "OH." the importance of that was not lost on Papyrus by the tone on his voice, and he carefully collected them from where they had fallen. "WAIT, THESE LOOK… FAMILIAR."

Sans notices him staring at the cover, symbols denoting his name and a number - the order in which the folders go.

 **"can you read it?"  
** "THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN READ ANYTHING NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" But he starts squinting the longer he tries to read it. "...EXCEPT THIS. IT'S GIVING ME A HEADACHE. YOU KNOW I MIGHT UNDERSTAND MORE OF YOUR SCIENCEY STUFF IF YOU WROTE IT IN THINGS OTHER THAN HANDS."  
 **"...you mean it would be more-"**  
"WAIT. NO. SANS, PLEASE, I JUST TOLD YOU I HAVE A HEADACHE."  
 **" _handy_ for you?"  
**"WHY IS MY BROTHER LIKE THIS?" he sighs, throwing his hands up in the air, careful not to drop the folders, as Sans chuckles to himself quietly.  
 **"it would be wrong of me to not take the opportunity when it was _handed_ to me."  
**Papyrus dumps the folders in his lap. "I CHOOSE TO TAKE THIS AS A WAY TO TELL ME YOU ARE FEELING BETTER."  
 **"kinda? i think… i needed time to process."  
** "WELL, I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I DONT HAVE GOOD LISTENING EARS. I HAVE THE GREATEST LISTENING EARS. AND DON'T SAY WHAT I KNOW YOU'RE ABOUT TO."  
Sans debates the pros and cons of saying it any way versus ruining the moment. For less than a second. **"you don't have ears."  
** "AAAAARRRGGGHHH! IF YOU CONTINUE LIKE THIS, I'M GOING TO LEAVE."  
 **"wait, what?"**  
"WELL, I WOULDN'T BE A VERY SUPPORTIVE BROTHER IF I DIDN'T STAY HERE WITH YOU WHILE YOU READ THESE POTENTIALLY VERY SAD THINGS. AND WHO ELSE IS GOING TO MAKE YOU EAT, IF I LEAVE NOW YOU WILL IGNORE YOUR FOOD FOR EVEN LONGER." and upon mentioning it, papyrus takes a seat next to him on the mattress and picks up the plate of food just reaching over sans with a long arm and putting it in his lap where Sans can easily reach it while he reads.

 **"...you really are the best."** Sans smiles at him. Suddenly, reading them feels a whole lot less daunting. But he wouldn't ruin the moment by telling him that. Heh.

Papyrus, surprisingly, sits and offers quiet support while he sits and read while idly picking at the food - though Sans suspects that has as much to do with the headache he's now sporting by the way he keeps furrowing his brow bones. It doesn't help that every time it seems to ease off, Papyrus starts looking over his shoulder to try again.  
 **"do you want painkillers or something, bro?"** Sans finally looks up with a small sigh of concern.  
"NO, I'LL JUST STOP LOOKING AT IT."  
 **"are you sure?"  
** "YES. SEE, IT'S GOING AGAIN NOW I HAVENT AT IT IN A LITTLE WHILE."  
 **"ok."  
** "...IS IT IMPORTANT INFORMATION? IS IT TELLING YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HIM?"  
Sans covers the page as his brother's eyes are drawn back to it.  
 **"nope, it's about me. all three of them."  
** "WOWIE! HE MUST HAVE LIKED YOU A LOT. SO WHERE'S THE ONES ABOUT ME? CLEARLY I AM THE BETTER BROTHER!"  
 **"hehe, clearly. but nah, it's nothing like that. how much do you remember from when we were little?"  
** "HMM…" Papyrus thinks on this for a moment. "THAT'S AN ODD QUESTION, BUT I SHALL ANSWER. EVERYTHING, OF COURSE!"  
 **"everything?"  
** "YES! YOU PASSED OUT AT THE SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU WERE ILL, WELL I DON'T REMEMBER THAT BIT BECAUSE I WAS TOO LITTLE BUT IT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD LATER, AND THEN YOU WERE JUST ALWAYS TOO SICK TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL UNTIL YOU DID. WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE I MIGHT ADD." He glares at Sans. "ALSO AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS WITH YOUR FEELINGS BECAUSE OF YOUR SICKNESS, BUT THAT'S FINE BECAUSE YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD A GREAT BROTHER TO HELP YOU WITH THAT. NYEH HEH HEH!"  
 **"...and you? what about you when i was in the hospital?"  
** "THAT'S EASY! I WAS LOOKED AFTER BY GRILLBY OR I WAS WITH YOU. UNLESS I WAS AT HOME!"  
Give him strength. **"but with who? you were a babybones, you couldn't have been there alone the whole time."  
** "OH! I WAS… UHH…" He sees Papyrus' really hard thinking face, and assumes that's his mind struggling to close the gap. "YOU KNOW, I'M NOT REALLY SURE. I MUST HAVE BEEN TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER."

 **"...him?"** Sans pulls out the piece of paper he'd all but forgotten about until now, and shows Papyrus his own drawing. Papyrus grins happily.

"I THINK SO! I JUST DONT REMEMBER WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE. OR WHO HE IS! BUT HE MUST HAVE BEEN NICE AND COOL TO RAISE SOMEONE AS COOL AND GREAT AS ME, SO I WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT IT! NYEH HEH HEH!"  
 **"yeah, maybe."** Sans' mind starts ticking over this, but Papyrus draws his attention back to him.  
"SO WHAT'S IN THE FOLDERS?"  
 **"oh, just… medical records and stuff. it's things that… no never mind."  
** "WHAT?"  
 **"it's just weird."  
** "WELL, YOU ARE PRETTY WEIRD. BUT IN A GOOD WAY. YOU WOULDN'T BE SANS IF YOU WEREN'T!"  
 **"...thanks pap."** He gives papyrus a flat look but decides to take that as a compliment. Sort of. **"i didn't mean the folders were weird, but it feels like i've read this before. actually, i've had the same feeling a few times over the last… i dunno. weeks, at least. like deja vu, but not."  
** "DEJA WHO?"  
 _knock knock_. His brain finishes the joke that wasn't started. It makes Sans chuckle to himself, the feeling bittersweet.  
 **"you know, that feeling you get when you feel like you've said or done something before but you actually haven't?"  
** "OH! YES, ACTUALLY, I KNOW THAT FEELING. I THINK. I THOUGHT I HAD JUST DREAMED IT."  
 **"eh, possibly. i wouldn't discount it. but, yeah, it's like i know all this i was just needing to remember that i've read it? sort of? like i said - weird."  
** "HMM…"  
 **"it reminds me of a joke-"**  
"EVERYTHING REMINDS YOU OF A JOKE, BROTHER, AND NONE OF THEM ARE ANY GOOD!"  
 **"this one is, bro."  
** "I KNOW I AM GOING TO REGRET THIS…"  
 **"ok. knock knock"  
** "WHO'S THERE? ...I CANNOT BELIVE I'M DOING THIS!"  
 **"deja"  
** "DEJA WHO- OH NO I SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING."  
 **"knock knock."** Sans grins, then starts laughing mostly because Papyrus' face is the most disapproving thing he's ever seen. Papyrus stands.  
"I TOLD YOU, ONE MORE BAD JOKE AND I WAS LEAVING! NYEH!"  
 **"aw, c'mon bro. that one's really good."  
** "NO KNOCK KNOCK JOKE IS EVER A GOOD JOKE, BROTHER." Papyrus leaves.

 **"...i just need someone that appreciates my _sans_ of humour."** His thoughts wander to the door, and he pulls them away from them and finishes up reading as his brother groans from outside his room.


	18. Chapter 18 - Overdue meetings

Sans was out in hotlands making some side money from his sentry station there - he'd managed to convince Undyne to let him man two more stations, one in waterfall and one here but not through any interest in being real keen on finding humans. The fine art of turning in just enough on his reports so as not to get fired hadn't taken long to master and it helped that Undyne wasn't all that keen on paperwork. No, he'd taken on more of them to spread out what he could do where - Snowdin was for Papyrus and naps, Hotlands was for money and Waterfall was for the quiet. And this was around helping Alphys in the lab. Admittedly he was spending less and less time there, unable to face it much due to his history with it and how odd it was to be there without Gaster being about, but Alphys hadn't questioned it much. She knew about the sentry post, obviously, and seemed more pleased about the timeline project he set up. Fixing the machine had been a bust so far but building a probe to measure timeline activity had been going well. Without Gaster keeping a tight ship, everything was going a lot slower in general in the lab but Sans had neither the motivation nor the inclination to ever step into the role that was left vacant. The trouble with everything going slower at the lab is that meant 'going well' didn't mean 'going fast'. He also knew she was busy with her robot friend she was trying to make to impress fluffybuns with, so he didn't push her any.

And all of this was just barely making rent on the house. He had wondered why he hadn't struggled covering it so much before, but then he came to a conclusion after an argument with her over the price: Gaster had been paying half the rent without his knowledge, and since the landlady didn't remember him she was now riding Sans' pelvis to make up the money lost to her "husband's terrible accounting". Yep, that's what she was blaming - her husband had given him the wrong price, apparently, and now it was up to him to make up the difference. That had already technically been paid.

Hence the changing of hotdog seller from 'small pocket change' to 'third job'. At least Hotlands had more foot traffic than the other sentry stations.

It's as he's summing up the amount of hotdogs he was going to have to sell to make rent even as he's serving them, he sees who's next. Well, he knew the king had been asking about for him so it wasn't unexpected. It certainly wasn't wanted, however. He's greeted genially. "Hello young man, I would like to buy a hotdog for everyone that comes through today."  
Sans narrows his eyesockets at him, not very happy to see him at all. **"in advance?"**  
"Yes. How much to cover an average day's work?" He smiles at him, but Sans can also read the second motivation behind the act. On the one hand, making rent. On the other hand, how hard would Undyne kick his ass for taking advantage?

… _if_ she could catch him.

 **"well, there's not just here. you'd be looking at covering Snowdin and waterfall too. admittedly, I don't sell so many out there, but you'd still be covering a day's work."**  
"That's completely understandable! I... assume that means you know why I am actually here then."  
 **"i can take a wild guess."**  
"Especially as you seem to have been actively avoiding me."  
 **"and yet here you are. and i'm all outta jokes too because the king ain't a _subject_."**  
Asgore looks two parts annoyed and one parts pained before he catches himself and chuckles out of politeness. "Ah, yes, that was… very good."  
So he doesn't share his wife's sense of humour… this was going to be more of a royal pain than he thought. _Eyyy._ Or maybe he could annoy Asgore out of whatever chat he wanted to have with him. He grins, letting it curve his cheekbones and eye sockets. **"it was my _crowning_ achievement."**  
He sighs. "I need to speak with you, and have done for some time, about something. And if you could take it seriously…"  
 **"10000g"**  
"That's… a lot more than I thought you would say."  
 **"that's today's wages for all three jobs you are interrupting, covering the time i might've spent at the lab working there instead of here and the wage for there, and the serious tax. ...oh, and the fee to get me to even talk to you at all."** He smiles, sickly sweet. That's going to make rent for a couple of months, and a few thousand to round it up to a nice round figure. And to try and put Asgore off.  
"No more bad jokes though."  
 **"i'll be _punder_ a joke ban until i consider us done talking."**

Asgore shudders. "I am your king and-"  
 **"and you asked how much. i told you. the way i see it you can-"** he holds up every digit except his thumb on his left hand and ticks them off on each finger. **"pay the fee, get outta my line so i can continue doing my job-"**  
"Your _illegal_ job"  
 **"i'm getting to that. would it kill ya to be patient? i'll start again. pay the fee; get outta my line so I can continue doing my job; not pay the serious tax which makes it 8000 and you get me being a royal pain in your ass; or get me in by force which is where that thing about this being an unsanctioned business venture comes in and the fact that i'm currently extorting the monarchy. which... you're not the kind of king to do it i'm pretty sure, but it's an option. so... what's it gonna be, fluffybuns?"**

"Sans…" Asgore feels his patience shrivelling with every word out if the skeleton's mouth. Then he decides to take the easiest and least possibly violent way out and pulls a sack of money from his inventory. "I only bought 3000 out with me, we can collect the rest from the castle."

It hits the sentry post's counter with a heavy thud. Sans looks around the king to the line.

 **"sorry guys, gotta go do my actual job for a change."** The steadily forming line groans. **"but if you want your hot animal fix, undyne should be by in about 20 minutes or so."** He winks at them, and groans turn to varying degrees of chuckles and laughter. He grabs the bag and it disappears from view quickly. Sans steps around the sentry post, and starts heading the opposite direction. **"i'll meet you there."** As soon as he's far enough out of sight, he opens a shortcut and steps through into the throne room trying not to think about the last time he was in here. He changes his mind, and goes to wait in the twilight stained hall. Asgore is surprised that he's here first when he arrives - more quickly than Sans had thought. He obviously had headed straight back to wait for him. Ha.

"How did you-"  
 **"i know a shortcut."** He dismisses the unfinished question with a shrug. **"what do you want?"  
** "I... hmm… well, I have been thinking about what you said when you brought the child to me. And then that turned into harder thinking about- "  
 **"no. whatever it is you've been thinking, i'm not interested."  
** "But you're still a sentry?"  
 **"not for you and not for any loyalty to helping you."** He states bluntly. If he didn't want jokes enough to pay for them, he was going to have brutal honesty instead.  
"I thought that might be the case." Asgore sighs, resignation heavy in it. "...So you know, I did not want to kill the child any more than you did."  
 **"i know. for the same reason you don't go out with one or even the four souls we have and collect the rest. you'd rather sit in this hole and hope the lab comes up with something in the soul projects."  
** "...Yes. I know it is cowardly."  
 **"they're not able to do much without a royal scientist. they're still waitin' for you to fill that position"  
** "Oh, I thought that you were the one who was in the position, you've always been there after all. I know someone was appointed."  
 **"nope. too lazy for the responsibility. it's been empty since before i showed up."** He shrugs, keeping his expression neutral. It's not a lie, and although there's the occasional slip, he's somewhat adjusted to the fact by now.  
"I've just paid for three jobs worth of wages for a single day, I don't believe lazy is-"  
 **"i said 'nope'."** Asgore gets the message loud and clear. **"so I suggest you start looking around."  
** "I will bear that in mind." Asgore pauses for a minute or two, trying to get any sort of a read on the skeleton. He's leaning against the pillar with his arms crossed, exuding an air of casual boredom. He could not be further from the way they had spoken before, and if anything it made Asgore more nervous.

 **"you know, you could still drop the serious tax and there would be a less silence while you check me out. gotta warn you though, that's a one way street, bud."**

"Oh, I wasn't… uhh… I am sorry if you thought-" he picks up on the smirk in the pupils. "...I will pay the whole requested amount. Though, I suppose I should get to the point of this meeting."  
 **"today would be good."  
** "My apologies. You spoke a lot of… harsh words, but none of them were untrue or undeserved. I do understand how you were feeling and probably still feel about the whole thing. And I found myself thinking over the entire situation harder than I have in a very long time."  
 **"the point, asgore."** Impatience slips into his tone. He has a lot of patience, but it is far from unending. Very far from it.  
"Yes. Well. I have a proposal for you. I believe that the underground needs someone such as yourself. You have a strong moral compass, and a stronger sense of someone else's. Everyone seems to know of you but trying to pin you down or find someone who knows anything about you is nigh impossible."  
 **"just _what_ are you asking, asgore?"  
**"Consider it a promotion. You'd still be in your role as a sentry, but you would be the one to make your own decision on the outcome of any… meetings without fear of repercussions. You've proven yourself to be a much better judge of things than even myself. You'd also be asked to help out in any major incidents in the underground, but those happen so rarely that you wouldn't have to worry about that too much. Wages would be negotiable, and would be paid directly by myself. You'd report to Undyne as normal, but no longer answer to her."

Sans goes to immediately rebuke the thought at 'promotion', but something in him tells him to wait and listen to the whole thing. He has one major concern about something. **"what would undyne be told?"  
** "Honestly, whatever you would prefer her know."  
 **"and if that was nothing?"  
** "Then this agreement would remain between you and myself."  
 **"seems like you're really jonesing for me to take this job."** Asgore just looks at him, and the look tells Sans everything he needs to know. He sighs, and rubs at the back of his skull. **"it sounds like a whole lot of work."** And responsibility.  
"Please. I know this is a lot to ask if you, but I wouldn't have come to you if I thought anyone else could do what it is I am asking."

He thinks it over, weighing up his options. The extra money would be good, and in all honesty it doesn't sound like he'll be doing that much more work. It adds some responsibilities, but add that to the slowly growing pile.

 **"i won't answer to you, either."  
** "What?"  
 **"it sounds like you have been trying to find out things about me for a while now. one of the first things you would have learned is that i'll always find out what's going on. the underground is small, it's not hard. you said i won't answer to Undyne, but i won't answer to you either. if i'm needed, i'll turn up."  
** "...That sounds acceptable."  
 **"i'm also not going to be jury and executioner. those are your jobs. i'll act however i think i need to at the time."  
** "Fine."  
 **"and you pay enough that i don't have to worry about meeting rent every month. pretty sure the landlady's a con artist and charging me three times what I need to pay, and i like my house."  
** "That can also be arranged."  
 **"and finally, this is strictly between you and me. nobody knows a thing because if it gets back to pap, i'm out. like, entirely out."  
** "This all sounds acceptable, considering what I am asking... What would you have me tell Undyne?"  
 **"hmm…"** he ponders this for a minute. He knows that Asgore's likely to have told her that he wanted to meet with him. **"tell her that we met, and you have some concerns. don't tell her what, just that if she thinks i'm doing something stupid to let you know; you're now handling my situation. those exact words. i can handle the rest. she's loyal to you, she won't question it."  
** "That... sounds surprisingly reasonable."  
 **"you paid 10000g for surprisingly reasonable. i gotta make rent just like everyone else."  
** "Not anymore." Asgore reminds him with a small smile.

A flutter of something similar to relief raises in Sans' soul. It's nice to have one less thing to worry about for a change.

 **"true. maybe we can actually afford to have a snowball fight or somethin' fun… maybe look into that maze thing pap was on about… that reminds me - why the hell are there snow taxes in snowdin? it's not like snow is a finite resource there."  
** "That is… actually a funny story." Asgore chuckles. "But perhaps one told at a better time. Now they are mostly just tradition, as many things in the underground are."  
 **"they suck almost as hard as the dangerous bridge requirements. let me guess, also tradition."  
** "Yes."  
 **"they. suck."** He's shifted off the pillar, just about done with the conversation. "hire a royal scientist 'cuz the lab's gonna end up coming to a stop without one. send the rest of my payment to my hotlands sentry post; i'll get it." And with that, he leaves.

He makes a stop on his way home, knowing exactly the place where he's going to spend the first lot of cash.

"Like, omg Catty, I told you he'd be back!"  
"Like, you totally did, Bratty!"  
"You know you need-"  
"-Like, money to buy our garbage, right?"  
"OMG, it's not garbage!"  
"...It's, like, really good garbage." they both giggle.  
 **"yeah yeah, girls. chill. i got it this time. that's why i didn't bring him with me, i want it to be a _surprise_."  
**"We totally got it"  
"Yeah, totally got it! Don't tell the tall loser."  
"...Bratty!" They both start laughing again. Sans can feel a headache starting dealing with the tweens.  
 **"just get me the damn car. one and a half, right?"**  
"This is a one of a kind piece of garbage! Like, totally worth it."  
"Totally worth it!"  
 **"how's about we make it one and i _don't_ kick your ass for jacking up the price since last time pap was in to look now i actually have the cash."** He smiles at them, and he sees them both pause. They have a quick whispering session between them, finish up laughing, then turn back to him.

"You, like, totally have a deal!  
"It was totally, like, worth a try!"

He drops a bag of coins on the 'counter' which is a wooden board on two oil cans out in the dump and shakes his head as they pounce on it. Wherever they set up shop now they are a good chunk of the way to affording one, remind him not to go there. He lifts the racing car bedframe off the ground with blue magic and let's it drift behind him as he rounds the corner and disappears behind the trash mound. He opens a shortcut and sets to work setting up the new frame and gives it a quick clean before making it, tossing the old wooden one that Undyne had brought round from one of her first trips to the dump -sorry 'bay'- after papyrus moved in out of the same shortcut then closing it after it hits the mound of other trash. He then makes his way to his Snowdin sentry station and decides to grab a nap before Papyrus comes around.

He figures he's earned it.

 _Papyrus .exe has crashed_

 _Rebooting…_

The thought makes Sans chuckle as he's watching his brother take in the new addition to his bedroom. Sans had managed to keep him distracted enough that he hadn't been in his bedroom at all until it was time for bed. It was worth the hard work by the look of wonder and surprise on his face. Papyrus finally turns to look at him, and Sans makes his face read clueless.

"what?" He's lifted off his feet so Papyrus can look him in the eye sockets at arm's length. Slowly, Sans starts to snicker again in his brother's hands. "looks like I got _car-ried_ away."  
"...NOT EVEN YOUR JOKES CAN RUIN THIS MOMENT FOR ME!" Papyrus states happily, before pulling Sans' into him and hugging him tightly. "WOWIE! I MEAN I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT IT! WHEN THE GIRLS HAD SAID SOMEBODY HAD BOUGHT THE SUPER COOL BED I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER SEE IT AGAIN BUT NOW I CAN SNOOZE WHEN I CRUISE! I MEAN CRUISE WHEN I- OH GOSH I'M TOO EXCITED NEVER MIND! I AM ONE STEP CLOSER TO HAVING THE REAL CAR, THE FANCY EXPENSIVE ONE THAT I DESERVE! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN'T SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH!"

Sans is still snickering into Papyrus' chest as he's squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. _hehehe, nailed it._

"BUT…" He shifts his grip and holds Sans out at arm's length again. "THE LANDLADY SAID YOU HAD BEEN A FEW G SHORT ON RENT THIS MONTH. THIS WASN'T WHY… WAS IT?"  
 **"nah. and don't worry about the rent. i'm on it."**  
"HMMM…" Papyrus stares at him trying to determine if he's being lied to. Sans just grins happily at him.  
 **"i got another job, if you need to know."  
** "BUT YOU'RE SO LAZY AT THE ONES YOU ALREADY HAVE!" Sans breaks down into full laughter. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU KEEP GETTING PEOPLE TO HIRE YOU! AND IT'S EVEN WEIRDER THAT THEY DON'T FIRE YOU EITHER!"  
 **"turning in the barest minimum is a fine art, bro."** He wipes a tear from his eye socket, laughter run it's course. **"you should try it sometime."  
** "I WOULD RATHER DO ONE THING REALLY WELL."  
 **"but you're still in training to do that one-thing semi-well."** Sans teases with a grin.  
"I WILL DROP YOU."  
 **"and napping so much takes a lot of effort. you might even say it gets-"  
** "I'M DROPPING YOU."  
 **"-quite tiring."**

He hits the ground with a thud and a grin and he can still see his brother's even though he's trying to hide it.

Maybe he made the right choice in the end.

.

 **"...so you finished it? nice work, al."  
** "Uh, y-yes." The nerves in her voice register with him, and it puzzles him a little. "He's c-called Mettaton."  
"WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU, DARLING! I TRUST I CAN COUNT ON YOU AS A FAN WHEN I GET MY BREAKOUT ROLE. YOU CAN EVEN HAVE AN EARLY AUTOGRAPH, BEAUTIFUL!"  
 **"i'm good. you know more than half the underground doesn't actually have a tv, right?"  
** "BUT THEY WILL WHEN MY MAGNIFICENT SELF MAKES THEIR DEBUT. I'M HERE TO PIT SOME SPARKLE IN THIS DRAB UNDERGROUND!"  
Sans looks at Alphys questioningly, something not ringing quite right about all this, and she gives a nervous laugh. "I'm h-hoping Asgore sees the potential in manufacturing the s-soul. H-his body can be ch-changed as needed to add more functions so whatever A-Asgore needs me to add, I can-"  
"OF COURSE HE'LL SEE THE POTENTIAL, MY DEAR ALPHYS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS SHOW HIM MY HOT NEW BODY AND HE'LL GIVE YOU THE JOB ON THE SPOT."

The reassurance seems to make her more nervous, and Sans knows something definitely isn't right here. One of Mettaton's words clicks. 'New'.

 **"what body did you have before?"  
** "Wh-what?"  
"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I DIDN'T HAVE ONE BEFORE."  
"Mettaton…" she covers her face with her hands. She knows Sans, she knows he's clicked onto something and she also knows that Mettaton is seconds away from putting his wheel in it. "M-maybe you should go… p-practice or something."  
"I DON'T NEED PRACTISE, I'M NATURALLY MAGNIFICENT!"  
She sees Sans watching. She fidgets her tail. "W-well, meeting the king is a big thing…"  
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THAT! YOU HELPED MY DREAMS COME TRUE AND NOW I'M HELPING YOURS COME TRUE TOO! WITH ME BY YOUR SIDE, NOTHING CAN GO WRONG!"

She groans and buries her face in her hands.

 **"i wouldn't let him speak at the meeting, al."** Sans finally says, sounding a touch amused. _woop, there it is.  
_ "NONSENSE!"  
"Mettaton… he... he knows s-something's up. J-just drop it. What g-gave it away?"  
Now he laughs. **"he likes to talk too much. king fluffybuns might not be the smartest monster in the underground but he's also not gonna fall for whatever this is if you let him do all the talking."  
** How does a rectangle look affronted? That's actually hilarious.  
"I'm making a m-m-mistake, right?"  
"OF COURSE NOT, DARLING!"  
 **"i actually agree with him. the lab needs a royal scientist and i can't think of anyone better, but you gotta prove it to him. a sentient rectangle is impressive, but if you're gonna lie about how then you're gonna need to lie well."  
** " _SEXY_ SENTIENT RECTANGLE, IF YOU PLEASE." **  
"i don't."** Alphys chuckles behind her hands, and comes out from behind them. **"you got this, alph."  
** "...It'll probably help that nobody is as freakishly p-perceptive as you." She teases hesitantly, and she feels better when he laughs.

"WELL… I'M GOING TO GO… DO SOMETHING ELSE."

Aww, he sounds jealous. Sans says nothing, but when the machine is huffing off, he takes a moment to read him. Curiosity got the better of him, so sue him. He gets the basics, but many of the numbers are missing, shrouded by a static noise. Huh. It's like trying to read… a… oh.

"M-Mettaton, wait!"  
"I WON'T GO FAR, ALPHYS DARLING. I KNOW IT'S IMPOSSIBLE BUT TRY NOT TO MISS ME TOO MUCH!" The door closes behind him.  
Sans and Alphys sit in silence for a moment, then he starts chuckling. It evolves into laughter, and Alphys throws him a look. **"...nah, it's nothing."  
** "Sans!"  
 **"it's just… that's how I imagine pap would sound if he was an asshole."**

Now they're both laughing.

"Okay, so, b-before I forget. Mettaton wasn't why I a-actually texted you. I was actually hoping he'd be g-gone by the time you got here… this is why I got you over here!" Alphys sounds excited this time. She goes to her workspace up the top, and brings down a small machine very carefully. She hands it out to him. "j-just needs to be programmed."  
He grins, excitement lighting his pupils. He takes the machine carefully, and pops it in his inventory. **"i'll let you know when it's running. thanks, al."**  
"Any time."

He arrives outside the house, and lets himself in the front door, calling out to see if his brother's home.  
"You!" He's greeted by an energy spear that he very narrowly pulls himself out of the way of and looks at the hole through his pocket.  
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM ABOUT TO SAY THIS BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO TO GRILLBY'S FOR A WHILE." It sounds like there's a scuffle in the kitchen.  
"Let go of me Papyrus! I'm gonna pound your dumbass brother into dust!"  
 **"aw, undyne, it sounds like you missed me."** He grins and closes the door for a moment as spears thud angrily into the back of it, and the walls.  
"NOT IN THE HOUSE UNDYNE! AND YOU ARE NOT HELPING, SANS!"  
 **"what's she so upset about?"  
** "DON'T PLAY DUMB, YOU DORKY LITTLE ASSHOLE!"  
"HE'S NOT, HIS JOKES ARE JUST THAT BAD!"  
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT PAPYRUS!"

He's glad he's not in the kitchen right now because now they are screaming at each other about him. He debates just sneaking through the lounge while they're distracted but decides that it's better to get this over and done with sooner rather than later.

 **"yo, when you two are done i'll be waiting outside. We need to _scale_ back on the angry fish demolition."** He grins as they both groan very loudly, and heads out to wait. He's not out there long, admittedly, before the front door is kicked off it's hinges and he's met by angry fish monster. **"so what's got you so steamed?"  
** "Damn it, Sans, if you're not going to be serious then I'm gonna start throwing spears again!" He just shrugs, and she summons one that she points at him with. "What the hell are you playing at?"  
 **"i don't know what you mean. unless you mean the fact i play a mean trombone."** He winks, and rocks back on his heels and steps back as the spear she was holding thuds into the space he previously occupied. He wonders idly why everything always seems to happen at the same time as he moves himself out of the way. At least she didn't actually seem to be actively trying to kill him, telegraphing her throws so moving out of the way was hardly tiring.  
"You know that's not what I MEANT!"  
"WAIT, REALLY? YOU PLAY TROMBONE? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO KEEP THAT A SECRET, BROTHER?"  
"PAPYRUS, NO!"  
 **"yep, I was gonna try the guitar or fiddle but was too highly strung for it."  
** "NYEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"  
"Damn. That was… better than I expected, actually. Freaking DORK!" But she laughs, and puts the next spear she'd summoned away. Then she sighs, and the humour fades. "I really need to talk to you though, Sans."  
 **"i figured by the deadly weapons thrown in my direction. welp, i'm going to grillby's. your treat."** He grins and starts off towards the bar, leaving her to catch up.

Once they had drinks in front of them, Undyne finally asks what's on her mind.

"What's happened between you and Asgore?"  
 **"i really don't know what you mean."** He lies easily, and she narrows her eye at him.  
"Well, he's not been... himself since the last human came through, and not long after that he's trying to arrange a meeting with you. Then, all of a sudden, he tells me that he's spoken to you and has some concerns, but he won't tell me what - just that he was handling it."  
 **"and? did he seem upset?"  
** "... That's the weird thing. He seemed better than he had in a while."  
 **"so what's the problem?"  
** "If he's concerned then I'm concerned and I wanna know what I've got to be concerned about."  
"eh, you know. the usual." He shrugs.  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
 **"c'mon. we both know that I don't really care about the job beyond getting paid for it seeing as pap's not going to get the job. he wanted to talk to me about the fact he caught me sleeping under my station in waterfall when the entire underground was on human alert. i told him that the only reason i was even on sentry duty was because my brother wanted me to be, told him to check my hp and also that i'd already spoken to you to make sure there was no immediate danger."  
** "That's not how I remember that conversation going. And why the hell were you sleeping under your station in waterfall when you worked so hard to get the damn information out of me in the first place."  
 **"seemed like the safest place."** He gives her an easy grin. He's weaving in just enough truth that the lies get easily lost within it. **"and I told him that we spoke because he was already concerned about the hp thing. and as I told him - naps are kinda essential. the buffer might not be much, but it's better than dusting from a stubbed toe."  
** That makes her snicker a little. "True, I didn't think about that. Do you want me to speak to Papyrus about-"  
 **"nah. it's actually kinda nice to be nagged at for being lazy instead of everyone telling me i'm working too hard between there and the lab. plus, it means i don't have to spend money on an alarm clock."  
** She laughs again. "I can't believe I thought he was the weird one."  
 **"nah, he's definitely the cool one."** Sans gives a genuine grin. **"so, yeah. if i disappear for a while, i'm probably napping somewhere safe and that's now officially sanctioned by asgore. or i'm in the lab, which we both agreed is higher priority."**

She doesn't look happy at the last, but she doesn't argue. "I… don't get why he couldn't tell me himself, but okay."

 **"easy. because I asked him not to. though, if i'd known you were gonna start chucking things… nah, i'd have still told him that anyway."** He chuckles, and she shakes her head at him. He slips off the stool. **"grillbz said it's 5000g for the drinks."**  
"WHAT?!"  
 **"...just kidding. they're already on my tab. later, buddy."** And he slips out into the snow and starts heading back. Papyrus is very glad to see him in one piece, and eventually stops henning/nagging him about winding Undyne up for long enough that he can finally head into his room and set up his laptop.

He cracks his knuckles, and sets to work.


End file.
